A Pirate's Life
by Kishi Kat
Summary: Updated 7-31-04 - A vixen finds out just how difficult it is to become a pirate. And how much harder it is to be accepted by them. RR please!
1. Prissy Spaniels and Cruise Ships

Authors Note: You knew one of these was coming right? This is my very first Talespin fanfiction. It's rated PG to PG-13 for mild cursing, innuendos (You've definately heard worse) and violence. But hey, it's about pirates and they aren't the nicest of people. I hope I haven't scared you all off now...it's really not as bad as it seems. I tend to rate higher than is usual, just to be safe. Please leave a review! I thrive off of comments!

I don't own Talespin, Disney does. I don't even own Don Karnage, and mores the pity. :D *dodges flying objects from the other fan femmes* I do own Camdyn Everly, Mina Bayr, Gwynn, Sophie and a few others, so if you've never met someone before, they probably sprang from my warped mind.

Prologue

A slim white-furred vixen stared out at the dockside and sighed. She was going to kill that agent of hers. Speaking of which...

"Camdyn! Get over here. And smile for the love of tuna, you're the entertainment!" a portly cat snapped as he adjusted his tie. A chocolate-brown Cocker Spaniel sauntered up to the cat. 

"Are you sure I can't have someone else go with me, Tibby-love?" she whimpered. Camdyn thought she felt that double decker salami sandwich making it's return trip. The spaniel glared at the vixen. 

"Now, now, Pirilla, you know that Camdyn is the only one who complements you're beautiful fur color. It's only for three days while these nice folks go on a cruise." the cat said smoothly. 

"I wish I didn't have to go...what if I get wet?" The prissy dog whined. 

"You're a spaniel. Come on, jeez." Camdyn muttered at the precise moment the ships whistle sounded and the last call for boarders was made. 

"Oh, oh, I'll miss the ship!" the dog started running toward the ship as fast as the high heels on her feet would let her. The vixen followed as quickly as she could, heaving their luggage along. 

The spaniel was primping her hair as Camdyn finally caught up to her, clutching her chest and breathing heavy. She'd dragged the suitcases to their stateroom, after making several wrong turns and having to ask for directions from a friendly hound. 

"It's about time you got up here. I can't believe Tibberire wouldn't get me someone else. I don't care if Fiona would have to wear make-up...it would be better than going anywhere with you." 

"Believe me...the feeling is mutual. I wouldn't even be here if I didn't have to feed myself." 

"Frankly I'm surprised you can." 

"That's the most intellectual thing you've ever said to me." Camdyn muttered under her breath as they left the safety of the cliffs. The spaniel stalked off with a huff and began to mingle among the passengers. The vixen sighed and let the wind blow through her hair listening to the murmurings of the crew and passengers. 

"I've heard there are pirates in the area." 

"Don't say things like that out here. The passengers'll hear you." 

"Yes, yes, it's one of the largest gemstones in the world. We didn't want to ship it by air. Not as safe as it used to be..." 

"Oh yes, this line has some of the very best seafood darling." 

Camdyn swiveled her ears back to listen to the ocean as the ship continued on. It was only a short matter of time before the first performance. Oh, how she detested working with that dog. 


	2. Diamonds Are a Vixen's Best Friend

-----Chapter One-----

Don Karnage stood watching his pirates as they prepared for their next raid. It was an inspired plan. He'd heard the Diaphin Assoication blabbering on about how air transport wasn't safe anymore, and that they were sending the Viritian Diamond, which was the third biggest in the world, on a cruise ship of all things. Karnage snorted derisively. They'd have to do better than that to fool him. The plan was simple, wait for the ship to get within range, land, steal the diamond, terrorize the passengers a bit, then leave before the Sky Police could get there. 

"What could possibly throw a monkey's wrench into my perfect plan?" Karnage said to himself as they took off. 

------ 

Camdyn sighed and began to clean up the props. It had been a terrible expirence. First, Camdyn had mis-stepped, then Pirilla had, purposely, Camdyn thought, stepped on the back of her dress and tripping her up. 

"Oooooo. I'd like to get even with them all! How do they know what it's like? I'm surprised the snobs actually watched." Camdyn stopped suddenly as she stepped outside with an armload full of clothing and other items used in their act. She listened closely. A thick fog had set in and she couldn't see far, then again, she couldn't have seen far anyway with all the stuff she was carrying. 

"Swear I heard something..." she muttered. Camdyn shrugged as best she could then started walking along to the room she had to share with Pirilla. She ran into someone about halfway there. 

"Pirilla? Is that you? Help me get these things to the room, ok?" 

When silence greeted her words, she knew something was wrong, Pirilla would have mocked her, a passenger would have yelled at her. So, who had she just walked into? 

"Hello?" she said tentatively. She sighed and dropped the armload of clothing. There was no one there. 

"Aw, geez." she muttered. "Pirilla! Quit fooling around." 

A high pitched giggle sounded behind her. Camdyn jumped around and was face to face with a very insane looking ferret. Her eyes went wide and he giggled again. 

"She does not knooooooooo-ooooooow..." he giggled out. A red wolf stepped through the fog. 

"Well she is knowing now, idiot!" He drew his cutlass and pointed it at Camdyn. "Get her and keep her mouth closed up." 

Camdyn didn't wait for the pirates to make their move, she ran as fast as she could to her room. It was the first thing that had come to mind. She reached it with the pirates right on her tail. She tried the door, it was locked. 

"Pirilla! Open the door! OPEN!" she howled. The spaniel inside spat back an insult. 

"There are pirates! Big scary ones!" 

"You've lost your mind!" 

"EEEEEEEE! They're coming!" Camdyn couldn't run any farther as their room was at the end of a hall. 

"If there really are pirates, what does their leader look like?" Pirilla asked through the door. 

"He's a big red wolf! With a really sharp sword!" Dumptruck picked Camdyn up off the floor, barely avoiding a savage kick aimed his way. 

"Hrumph. What's his name? He sounds cute." 

By this time, Dumptruck was having trouble holding onto the squirming vixen. At this last comment however, she stopped struggling entirely and just stared at the door. She looked back at Dumptruck and Mad Dog. 

"Now you all know why they're called Cocker Spaniels." she said wryly. "I hope he makes you walk the plank, Pirilla!" she shouted back at the room. 

"I told you to keep her quiet like the baby-type mouse person!" 

"We tried Captain...she was trying to get inside." Mad Dog cringed. 

"Yeah, unfortunately my 'friend' was more interested in your looks than her apparent danger." 

Karnage glared at the vixen. 

"If you do not shut yourself up, I will use the peanut butter and duct tape on you." 

Camdyn merely gave him a puzzled look, but said nothing. 

"Now, you, go and look for the diamond." He pointed at the crazy ferret. The ferret nodded and moved off quickly. 

"Cabin 14A" 

"What?" Karnage said looking at the vixen. 

"That's where the diamond is. I saw 'em put it in there." 

"You do not know what you are bubbling on about." 

"Seriously! I heard the guy telling someone that they had this rock the size of my fist and that they were transporting it to a museum." 

"Rock? I thought we were after a big diamond..." Dumptruck said, scratching his head with his free hand. 

"I would hit you in the head with something, but you would not be feeling it." Karnage snapped as the passengers realized just what sort of danger they were in. 

"I know all kinds of things...like there's this hippo, right? Well he hides all his money in his shoes! This other one, she a cat, she has so much money that her pet Pug has a solid gold collar..." Camdyn muttered more to herself than anything. 

"Shut. Up." A large hand clamped over the vixens muzzle, effectively silenceing her. 

"MmmmmMMMMM! Mmmm mmm MMM!" Camdyn mumbled. 

"Do you want to annoy him? You want Don Karnage to use the mangos and nail polish?" a large cinnimon colored bearess asked. Camdyn shook her head slightly. 

"Mmmm Mmm Mmmmmm?" Camdyn asked. 

"Of course he's Don Karnage!" the bearess grasped the vixen's shirt and motioned with her muzzle for Dumptruck to go. "I can handle one little fox. You go. Free for all." 

Dumptruck took off and left the vixen with the bear. 

"Now, if you promise not to go trying to run off or scream, I'll put you down." 

Camdyn nodded as best she could. 

"Right. Here." the bear dropped her to the floor. "Sorry about the silenceing." 

The white-furred vixen squinted up at the big bear. She was going gray around her muzzle, before Camdyn could say anything she was being herded along to where the other pirates were holding the crew and passengers. 

"This is all YOUR fault!" Pirilla screeched. 

"What do you mean MY fault? I didn't do anything!" 

"You should have warned the Captain." the spaniel growled. 

"YOU should have let me in! Then I wouldn't have been caught by the pirates. Why didn't YOU tell him?" 

"Because he's over there knocked unconcious." Pirilla pointed. 

"Ah...that would explain a lot." Camdyn conceded looking at the lump on the captains head. 

"I fooooooooooooound iiiiiit! Heeheheheheheheheheh!" the crazy ferret rolled to a stop at Don Karnage's feet. 

"Well?!" 

"It was in the cabin the vixen said it would beeeee." the ferret giggled again uncontrolably as he handed over a hatbox. 

The red wolf looked thoughtful as he pulled the diamond out of it's hiding place and looked at it. If she'd been right about the diamond, she could be right about some of the other things as well. 

"You! Whatever-your-name-may-be...come here." he snapped pointing at Camdyn. 

"Me?" 

"Of course you! Who else would I be talking to with my wonderful voice?" 

Camdyn thought he might be slightly mad, and since there was no sense in making him go completely mad she complied. 

"You know where other pretty things like this would be hiding themselves, yes/no?" 

"Urmm...I," Camdyn hesitated, if she told Karnage where to find the other valuables on the ship they'd turn her in for aiding and abeiting. She'd almost bet her life on it. 

"Come come, let us not be shy." Karnage had a dangerous look in his eye. Camdyn would almost bet her life. Almost was the key. 

"Yes." 

"Good. You will show my crew where they might be." 

"Wait, what do I get out of this?" 

The wolf looked at her. 

"Why, you will be able to go home in one piece instead of many small teensy pieces. Is that not good enough?" 

Camdyn gulped. "Good enough for me." 

She found herself being followed by a motley group of scroungy pirates. A grayish-brown mutt kept his rifle trained on her. The implication wasn't lost on the vixen. She directed them to the rooms of the richest passengers on the ship. 

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you exactly where they'd be hiding the stuff, but I showed you where the rooms were. May I go back to the passengers now?" 

"You move and you're a dead fox." 

After the crew had gathered up what they could find they marched Camdyn back to the group of huddled passengers and crew. 

"Don't you DARE try to come back here! You're nothing but a pirate wench!" a fat female cat exclaimed as Camdyn moved toward the group. 

"Yes, go over there with your friends you little fiend!" 

"You led them to our valuables!" 

Camdyn backed away from the increasingly hostile crowd. She jumped as she bumped into the bear who'd restrained her earlier. 

"Sorry..." 

"Shh. Come with me." she said pulling the vixen along with her. "You want to stay here and take the rap or do you want to get away?" 

"I would prefer to get away, but I don't see how..." 

"I'm going to argue for you. So you just sit there and agree with anything I say, right?" 

"Yes, but, I don't even know who you are!" 

"Name's Mina. Mina Bayr." 

"I'm Camdyn. Camdyn Everly." She ran into Mina again as the bear stopped abruptly. 

"Did you just say 'Everly'? As in decendant of Jerimiah Everly?" 

"Yes-he's my grandpa." Mina took off again as quickly as before. 

"This is better than I thought! You know what your grandfather did for a living don't you?" 

"He always told me that he was in the shipping trade." 

Mina looked at the vixen, then burst out laughing. "Shipping...that's good. That sounds like 'im. You're grandfather, my dear, was in the trade of _stealing_ ships, and their cargo. He wasn't very infamous, but that's how he managed to settle down and actually enjoy his plunder." 

"That can't be right! My grandfather is a decent person!" 

"I didn't say he wasn't decent. Shush." 

"What are you doing?" 

"Ah, I just thought that since the girl here did a service for us, we should at least get her somewhere where she might actually stand a chance of getting away." 

"Do not try the quick talking with me. I am quicker than you." Karnage growled. 

"Well, you know the pirates code as well as I do." 

"The Pirates Code only works for PIRATES. She is not a pirate. She is just a really bad dancer." 

"I am NOT a bad dancer! I can dance as good as anyone!" Camdyn snorted, realizeing her mistake seconds before Mina's sigh. 

"I say you are." Karnage retorted with a pointed look at the torn hem in the skirt she was wearing. 

"Ok...maybe I am a bad dancer...but I can sing well." 

"What use is a pirate who sings? You would sing lullabies to put them to sleep like tiny baby-type children?" Abruptly Karnage turned and walked toward the rest of the raiding party. 

"Come on. I trust you can get in a plane?" 

"But..." 

"He's giving you a chance. You have to learn how to read between that affront to the English language. I'll explain later." the bearess shoved the vixen out onto the wing of a double seated plane. 

"I fly the trainer. It's more stable...well, at least since Ratchet made all those customizations I asked him for." 

"Ratchet?" Camdyn mumbled from her upside down position in the rear cockpit. 

"Oh, you'll meet him. And all the others too." Mina said climbing into the pilots seat. "Get yourself turned over and I'll give you the five-eighty on the raiders." 

Camdyn struggled a bit and finally managed to get herself upright. Mina began pointing out pirates to her. 

"See him? Not the ferret, the mutt. That's Mad Dog." 

Camdyn found herself looking at the same dog who'd held the rifle on her during the 'tour' as she'd begun to mentally call it. 

"Why do they call him that?" 

"Well, it's a long story really. Oh, that's Dumptruck...they call him that because you can hit him with just about anything and he won't feel it. Not that you wouldn't be feeling it of course. Then there's Zoll, and Cyn and Jess." Camdyn began to lose track of who was who. She winced as Mina fired the engine in the plane. She felt her stomach doing flip-flops and scrunched down into the seat as far as she could. 

"You aren't afraid are you?" Mina asked after a while. 

"No." 

"What was that?" 

"I said NO!" Camdyn shouted. 

"That's better! You have to shout to be heard up here." Mina shouted as they passed low over an uninhabited island. Camdyn thought that they might land there and was surprised when the planes passed low over it but changed course on the other side. 

"What are you doing?" Camdyn asked. When Mina didn't answer she assumed the bear hadn't heard her or wasn't going to answer. 

"We're tricking the Sky Police. We got a little delayed and they're closer than we'd like. They'll think we landed on that island or one of these others." she gestured out at the surrounding archapeligo. "But, as you can see, we didn't land on anything. And by the time they realize it, we'll be long gone on a crazy camel!" Mina laughed. 


	3. Skunk or Squirrel?

Note: This chapter is shorter than the last, but it introduces more characters. :) Hopefully I haven't added too many.

----Chapter 2---- 

Camdyn was enjoying the view of the sky from high up when a huge shadow appeared out of nowhere. It took her a minute to register that this was an airship. The thing was huge. 

"There we are! Home sweet home!" Mina shouted back to Camdyn. 

"What IS that thing?" 

"The Iron Vulture, of course! Home away from Home so to speak." 

Camdyn winced. She'd heard rumors about the huge airship when she was in Cape Suzette, but nothing had prepared her for this. She panicked slightly as they flew straight at the airship, and only relaxed slightly when she saw that they were headed for a hangar inside. Mina's plane was the last one in and as it rolled to a stop both passenger and pilot scrambled out. 

"Oh, I tell you. Ratchet! You really need to make that seat more comfortable! I can't even feel my tush!" Mina rubbed her rear end. Camdyn couldn't suppress a laugh. She quickly stopped as the big gray dog named Dumptruck walked up leading a large tigeress and a female squirrel. Camdyn missed the wink that passed between the two girls and Mina. 

"Uh, der captain says that these two want yer help..." 

"Move along there! I've got all kinds of work to be done and you're standin' around yappin'!" the tigeress brandished a spatula like a sword and took a swipe at the dog. Dumptruck stood his ground. 

"But, der captain said I had to keep an eye on der girlie-" 

"Do you think I can't handle a scrawny little vixen? Huh? Do you?" the tigeress showed her fangs and Dumptruck scrambled off. The tigeress happened to be the cook, and Dumptruck knew full well her methods of getting even with the crew. Last time she'd put so many spices in the food that no one could possibly eat it...well, except Don Karnage, but who knew he liked spicy food? 

The squirrel was bouncing up and down in excitement. "Come on! Come on!" she grabbed Camdyn by her paw and before the vixen could protest she was being hustled along corridors and up stairways faster than she could blink. She practically tripped when the squirrel stopped suddenly and opened a door. 

"In! Come on!" she pushed the vixen into the room. A few minutes later Mina and the tigeress appeared. 

"Ah, I see you've become a victim of The Gwynn Hustle." Mina said with a grin. 

"Hrmph. If she'd only hustle like that to get her work done." 

"Awww, Sophie. Just because I don't like peeling..." 

"No buts. You peel, I cook. It's the way of the world." 

"Bah. I hate the world and it's ways." the squirrel huffed as she flopped down and began to peel potatoes. 

Camdyn shifted from paw to paw. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. This is Sophie and Gwynn, you two, this is Camdyn Everly." 

"Hi howareya?" Gwynn said holding out a half peeled potato. Camdyn looked at her as if she were insane. Gwynn looked at her hand and sighed. 

"Sorry." she switched the potato to the other paw and shook Camdyn's. "I forget about the potatoes sometimes." 

After a few minutes of silence Sophie looked at the vixen. 

"So, where are you from anyway? I'm from the Port of St. Init, Bengala." 

"Well, I'm from Point Clearwater, but I've been working out of Cape Suzette for about a month now." 

"What'd you do there?" Gwynn asked, her tufted ears standing up straight. 

"Oh, well, I'm an entertainer. A little song, a little dance you know?" 

"Ah, a stage girl?" Sophie asked not looking up from what she was doing. Mina sat in a chair by the door, listening. 

"Well, I try to be. Unfortunatly I got stuck with a snooty Cocker Spaniel who was afraid of getting wet. The audiences never really cared for me too much I don't think. On the first trip my so-called agent booked us on the crew told me I sounded like a drunk whale and if I didn't shut up they were going to leave me on an island. This time I end up with pirates!" Camdyn slapped the counter. "Urm, no offense." 

"None taken." Mina said, laughing. 

"My only thought at the moment is whether I made the better decision or not. I still don't know why Don Karnage let me come." 

"He saw potential the same as I did." Mina said. 

"I don't have any potential!" 

"Well, maybe he was just being nice." Sophie said sagely. "He's a gentleman you know." 

"BAH!" Gwynn snorted throwing a potato down and getting another. 

Sophie smiled like a Sphinx. 

"He is." she said. 

"A gentleman does not insult a lady!" 

"I told you not to wear that perfume." the tigeress answered. 

"He was over-reacting! He said I smelled like a skunk!" 

"He wasn't over-reacting, he was telling the truth!" Mina shrieked with laughter. 

Sophie watched the bear for a moment then looked at Camdyn. "It was one of those perfumes that was supposed to give you different scents. The ones they found out didn't work." 

"Oh! Yeah, they made everyone smell like a panicked skunk..." 

Mina shrieked with laughter again, falling off of her chair and onto the floor as Gwynn continued her peeling duties. Perhaps just a touch more forceful than needed. 


	4. Going off HalfCockroached

----Chapter 3---- 

Sophie wrangled Camdyn and Gwynn into helping her carry all the food down a deck to the galley. Mina promptly disappeared and Camdyn commented on it. 

"Mina bailed out on us." 

"She's got good reason." Sophie said reassuringly. Camdyn was aware of the stares she was getting from the noisy crew members who were all talking amongst themselves. Camdyn stared back at them. She tried to match up faces with names that Mina had told her. The dog she thought was the one called Zoll seemed to have no tail at all. Camdyn wondered what could have possibly happened to it. She jumped as he spoke to her suddenly. 

"I was born without one." 

"I'm sorry, I didn't-" 

"S'all right. I'm used to it." he winked at her, "Rather have a pretty lass like you staring at me bottom than this lot, that's for sure." 

He laughed. Camdyn still couldn't believe he'd been born with no tail. 

"You're name is...Zoll? Right?" she asked. 

"Tha's right. The tail runs in the family. We're all welsh. You can sit 'ere." he shoved one of the pirates off the bench he was sitting on and offered her a spot. "It's the only way you'll ever get a seat." 

Camdyn looked around and saw that both Sophie and Gwynn had found seats, so she took the Corgi up on his offer. The displaced pirate promptly went and shoved another and started another round of jostling. 

"You're the new girl, ain't cha?" Zoll asked. "The one Mina brought aboard." 

"Yes..." 

"Coo, you're the reason Karnage is so ticked. He was madder than a cat with no claws earlier. Heard him and Mina arguing." at this Zoll pointed to his large ears "The old radar picks up a lot." 

"She's fighting with the Captain? Isn't that a little...risky?" 

"Too right." Zoll leaned over closer to Camdyn. "If you don't mind me sayin', you need to start watching your back. Yer one of four girls on this whole damn ship and the rest of us is...well, never mind that. We're the big dogs, and you've gotta learn to fight like one of us or you'll get run over." 

Camdyn didn't know how to reply to that so she sat and stared at her hands. That was when Mina came in looking like she was going to murder someone. Karnage was right behind her. 

"Oh no. Looks like things didn't go too well." Sophie whispered to Gwynn. 

"I hope they don't keel haul, Camdyn. I like her." Gwynn said as Mina forcibly shoved herself into the space next to her. 

"I'm sure the captain would let her walk the plank if she wanted to." Sophie said with a small smile. Gwynn rolled her eyes. 

"So what did he say? Does she stay?" Gwynn asked. 

"He doesn't want to talk about it." she snorted. "He doubted she'd even be able to hold her own in here much less on a raid." Mina was angry. 

"Well, I hate to be the one to burst his bubble but, she's sitting over there making friends already." Sophie said pointing. 

"What?" Mina looked across the table at Camdyn who was laughing at something Zoll had said. 

"Zoll? ZOLL likes her?" 

"I think he's just protecting her." 

"Hrmph." was all Mina said. "She's not out of the woods." 

Sophie and Gwynn tried to cajole her into talking more, but Mina wouldn't have any of it. 

After dinner Mina caught up to Camdyn, Sophie and Gwynn on her heels. 

"Come with me. You need to talk to the captain." 

"Did he say I could stay? Or is he going to do me in?" 

"Just come with me. You two should get to bed." Mina said watching the other two. They looked sheepish and slunk off to their shared room off the kitchen. It had the bonus of being warm in the coldness of the high altitudes. 

Mina waited until she was sure they were gone then led Camdyn through another twisting maze of corridors. 

"He doesn't like me does he?" Camdyn said. It really wasn't a question, more a statement, but Mina shook her head. 

Mina shrugged. 

Camdyn was quiet. "Do you think he'll let me stay? Or am I going to be shipped off to some island to be marooned? Or worse, turned in?" 

"I honestly don't know what goes on in his head most of the time." Mina admitted. "I get along better than most of the crew. I've known him for years." 

"Is that why you were arguing with him?" Camdyn put her paw over her mouth as soon as she said it. 

"Ah, Zoll's Radar. He doesn't miss a beat that one. The only one more informed on the ship is Gibber." Mina didn't pause at all in her walking. 

"Well, I suppose I can give you the short of it. It can't hurt. You see I can get away with a little bit of arguing here and there because I've known Karnage since he was little more than a pup himself...and I know how far I can push him before he gets really angry. Met him after he ran away from home and helped Mad Dog and Dumptruck break out. But I shouldn't have told you that...that's their story, not mine. And here we are anyway." 

Mina knocked on the door in front of them. Camdyn wished more than anything that she could hide behind the big bear and pretend she wasn't there, but Mina shoved her inside first. 

"I brought back-up this time." Mina said as soon as she closed the door. 

"So you did. Should I be the frightened kitty-cat?" 

"She held her own with the crew. She proved out there that she deserves a chance." 

"She proved nothing. She has no skills...nothing that would be useful to a pirate." Karnage snapped. 

"How do you know what skills I have? You haven't even asked me!" Camdyn said, wincing as Mina glared at her, but continued on, "My uncle is a cargo pilot. He even let me fly his plane on a few runs." 

"See? She can do it." Mina interjected. Karnage snorted. 

"Flying a cargo plane is not the same as flying a fighter." 

"The only reason you're-" Mina started. 

"The ONLY reason YOU are doing this is because you feel the guiltiness of failure." Karnage smiled wickedly. He'd hit a nerve and could tell it. "No matter what it is you teach to...her...she is not going to be bringing back the lost." 

Mina was trembling. "How dare you bring that up!" 

Camdyn was confused. Lost? Did that mean someone died? 

"You are feeling sorry for her and wish to help her, yes/no? I am telling you she will never learn to be a pirate." 

"You know, I remember when someone said the same thing about you." 

"I am remembering it." 

"Then you probably remember what happened to the person who said it." 

"Vividly." 

"Well, I'm not going to do it now...but only because it would be mutiny." Mina snapped and turned to go, completely forgetting Camdyn was standing there. The door slammed and resounded down the corridor. Camdyn looked frightened. 

"Well?" Karnage asked. Camdyn turned to look at him. "Go. I am busy." Camdyn shuffled to the door, but paused before she opened it. 

"What did she do?" 

"Eh?" 

"To the person." 

"Oh...she back handed him across a table." 

Camdyn nodded and began to leave. 

"You may tell the bear, that she can teach you." 

She stopped outside the door. Had she just heard that right? 

"Really?" 

"Yes. The only conditioner is she take you off of my lovely ship. You are distracting to the crew." 

"Thank you." 

"Do not be thanking me, go! Tell the bear before she goes off half cockroached." 

Karnage winced as the door slammed a second time and listened to Camdyn's running fade into the distance. He only hoped she didn't get lost, that was the last thing he needed. 

Camdyn didn't get lost, but she did end up in the crew's barracks. She managed to find Zoll in the melee of pirates. 

"Have you seen Mina?" she asked him. Zoll shrugged. 

"I've seen her." 

Camdyn turned to the speaker and saw it was Mad Dog. 

"She took off toward the hangar." he said pointing down the corridor. "If you hurry, you might actually catch her before she leaves." 

"She's LEAVING? I have to tell her...something." Camdyn hurried off in the direction the mutt had pointed. She was stopped cold when he grabbed her by the back of her shirt. 

"Hey! Lemme go!" 

"It's faster if you go this way...you'll never get through down there." he pulled a vent cover loose and shoved her in. It was big enough for her to stand up in, as long as she ducked her head. "Just follow it straight out. You'll come out on the catwalk." 

"Thanks." Camdyn was already moving, hoping Mad Dog wasn't playing some sort of cruel joke on her. 

Zoll shook his head. 

"What?" Mad Dog snapped. 

"Nothing. It's just you helped her. You going soft?" Zoll received a punch in the shoulder for his troubles. 

"Hehe. Guess not." he said, rubbing his shoulder.


	5. Taking Off

---Chapter 4----

As things turned out, Mad Dog hadn't been lying. Camdyn did indeed find the catwalk and leaned over the edge to shout at the angry bear. 

"WAIT! Mina! Don't leave!" 

Mina looked up from where she was prepping her plane to see the vixen scrambling to find her way down. She waited impatiently and when Camdyn finally managed to get there she was tapping her foot. 

The..captain said...that you...can...teach me." Camdyn panted as she stood next to the bear. 

"There's a catch somewhere isn't there?" 

"He said that you had to take me off the ship to do it." 

"Bah. I knew he'd come up with something." she said stepping away from her plane. "Well, come on. No time like the present." 

"We're leaving NOW?" Camdyn looked back toward the beak and then back at Mina. "It's the middle of the night." 

"Yes, so it is." Mina said moving off at a quick pace. 

"But why?" Camdyn said jogging along beside the bear. 

"If we wait we'll miss the port. I have friends there But first we have to find you something to wear other than that." Mina gestured at Camdyn's dress. It had definately seen better days. Camdyn followed Mina back to the crew deck, edging their way past a group of pirates who were blocking the hallway. 

"What are they doing?!" 

"Cockroach races. Don't step on anything." 

"I'll try not to." Camdyn made a disgusted face. 

"What do they do? Catch free range roaches?" 

"Nah, they keep 'em if they're good." Mina said grinning at Camdyn as she opened a door. She slid an old fashioned steamer trunk from a corner and opened it up. It revealed a mass of odd items, books, papers, photos, a teddy bear, and some clothing. Mina pulled out the ball of clothes and began to pick through it. She would hold something up occasionally, then shake her head and mutter. Finally she seemed content with what she had picked out and stuffed the rest back in and locked the trunk. 

"Here. Put these on." Mina said, stepping out of her room and pushing Camdyn inside. She pulled the door closed and watched the races as she waited. Presently Camdyn opened the door and peered out. 

"Hrmph. It'll have to be taken in here and there, but it'll do for now." Mina grumbled, turning Camdyn about and examining the outfit with a critical eye. 

"You can keep those. They sure won't fit me anymore." 

Camdyn couldn't imagine the big bearess ever fitting into the black and silver flight jacket, but said nothing about it, only murmuring a small "Thank you." 

"Well, we'd better get out of here." Mina said jovially as she began to lead the way back to the hangar. "But I'll be back so you'd better keep you're disgusting greasy mange-ridden hides outta my room! Or you'll have Cassomina Bayr to deal with!" she shouted back at the pirates. 

Her statement was met with rather humorous comments. 

"Right!" 

"Hey! We're pirates, ain't we supposed to theive?" 

"Like anyone wants to dress up in yor clothes Mina!" 

"Yeah! Dumptruck is the only one who'd fit 'em!" 

The pirate in question slapped the one who'd made the comment, a gray-furred weasel. 

"Hey, I didn't know you cared..." 

"Well, ya know what they say, just reach out and slap somebody..." 

Their voices and racuous laughter faded out as Camdyn and Mina continued along the corridor. When they got back to the hangar, Camdyn noticed several others there as well. 

"Hrmph." the bear glanced at the others, they stood watching expectantly. "These are the ones rooting for you to fail kid." she said softly. 

Mina swiftly climbed into the cockpit Camdyn stood looking up at her. 

"Well? What are you waiting for? Come on." Mina said looking out at her. 

"Okay..." Camdyn scrambled onto the wing. As she stepped on the pawhold she slipped and hit her chin on the edge of the cockpit. 

A chorus of laughter greeted her misfortune. 

"She's gonna fly like a rock!" 

One of the pirates made a circling motion with his hand complete with whistling and crashing sounds. Up on the catwalk, Don Karnage shook his head. 

"Try again." Mina said. Camdyn tried again, this time managing an ungainly scrabble, but getting into the cockpit. She was trying not to cry, both from humiliation and pain. 

As soon as Mina was sure Camdyn was in, she fired the engine and they were moving swiftly toward the open beak. Camdyn nearly panicked for a moment as they felt nearly weightless, then the air caught the wings and they were speeding off toward the town of Port Parides. 


	6. The Ladies at Louies

AN: the // marks in this story denote where the characters are speaking in a different language.

----Chapter 5----

A yellow seaplane trimmed in red buzzed over the sea with a large gray bear and a small brown furred cub inside. They were on their way back from a cargo run to Wannabe Flats. 

The cub, named Kit Cloudkicker, looked out the window of the cockpit and checked his map. 

"You know, this looks an awful lot like the way to Louie's." he said slyly. 

"Now I wonder why..." Baloo said grinning. 

"What are you gonna tell Ms. Cunningham THIS time?" 

"The truth! See those great big storm clouds?" Baloo pointed toward the horizon where several large surly dark clouds were gathering. "We didn't want to fly my baby through that and they say any port in a storm." 

Kit shook his head, grinning. He watched the clouds as they got more menacing. The plane managed to get to Louie's just ahead of the storm. 

The place was packed as, apparently, every other pilot in the area had the same idea. Kit climbed onto a stool next to Baloo and watched as more pilots came, in varying states of sogginess. Most of them were bedraggled cargo pilots, but a group of canines came in and they made Kit distinctly nervous. He knew from experience that air pirates could, and most of the time did, get into places people didn't even think they would dare show their faces. Kit turned back towards the conversation betweeen Baloo and Louie. He'd just gotten into some drawn out tale from Baloo's earlier days when the door swung open and slammed shut. 

Everyone turned and looked at the soaked duo who'd just arrived. The smaller of the two, a vixen, wrung the water out of her tail. 

"Well, I suppose that got everyone's attention." the bearess said with a devil may care grin. 

"What are two WOMEN doin' out in a storm like that?" a badger snorted and recieved a good slap on the back of his head for it from a female cargo pilot sitting next to him. He looked quite sheepish and ducked back to his drink, mumbling something about "just asking" 

Mina found them both a place to sit. Camdyn climbed up next to the bear. 

"Just out of curiousity, what is it you are doing out so far from...home?" a silky voice came from behind them. 

"Out for a joyride, Sable." Mina said, not looking at the patchworked wolfess standing behind her. She'd known who it was before she'd spoken. A friendly looking younger wolfess bounced up to them. 

"Sable's right. You are far from home. Did my brother throw you out?" she said rapidly, tilting her head so her gray hair slid away from her eyes. 

Camdyn was puzzled, but Mina laughed. 

"No, not really, Rox." 

"Awww...I was hoping I could practice my negotiation techniques on him..." Rox looked positively put out. 

"Hrpmh. All he'd do is look at you like you were insane. Which I am thinking you are." 

"Just because I learned how to speak properly." Rox, alias Roxette or Roxie, stuck her tongue out at her older sister. 

//You had better shut that mouth of yours or I might decide to shut it for you!// Sable snarled in a foreign language. 

//You better watch out. You know our brother likes me better than you.// 

Their bickering went on for several minutes, until Camdyn could stand no more. 

//Enough! Are you both finished running each other into the ground?// she said. The two female wolves stopped and stared at her. Roxie with something akin to admiration, Sable with unbridled suspicion. 

"I do not like you, vixen." Sable said. 

"Not everyone does." Camdyn allowed, not breaking her gaze from that of the she-wolf. 

Kit fidgeted. He'd seen that cinnimon bearess before, and he didn't want her to notice him. Baloo looked over at the cub. 

"What's wrong with you Little Britches? Got ants in yer pants?" 

"Remember when they said on the radio that that actress got kidnapped by the pirates and they ran all those pictures and stuff in the papers?" 

"Yeah...from the way ol' Bekkers acted you'da thought old Karnage was hiding in her closet." 

"Well, I don't think she got kidnapped..." 

"I'm not following ya Kit." 

"She didn't get kidnapped because she sitting at the other end of the bar!" Kit hissed. 

"Well, good for her." 

"No! She's sitting there with a pirate! The bear, and the white fox!" 

Baloo glanced down the bar and caught the end of the arguement and the challenge between vixen and wolf. 

Abruptly the patchwork wolf turned and strode away, followed quickly by the young gray wolf. They returned to a table with several other women at it who all looked puzzled over the exchange. 

"Whose cursed with that...jackal...for a sister?" Camdyn huffed. Mina smiled. 

"Captain Don Karnage." 

Camdyn looked at Mina. "No, I meant really." 

"I'm serious. You just met his sisters." 

Camdyn glanced back at the group, who were now laughing at some private joke. 

"Why do I get the feeling that I just made a serious mistake?" 

"Not too serious. You've already got Roxie on your side. The trick is finding something that you can do that'll make Sable like you. Once you've done that...you're set for life." 

One of the group at the table waved to the twosome. 

"Come on over here! No sense in being all tough for us...ve can see right through ya!" a big female husky called. 

"Seems we're invited to join the Ladies for a while." Mina said walking over to the table, Camdyn in tow. 

"Long time since we last saw you Mina...what have you been up to?" 

"Who's your friend?" 

"You been keeping our guys out of trouble?" 

Mina smiled and answered all the questions in one long statement. 

"Just the same old song and dance, Kay. This is Camdyn...I've got the captain's blessing to train her up. No guarentee's though. Suki, are you kidding? Your guys get into so much trouble I couldn't dig them out with a shovel and half of the crew working with me." 

Camdyn looked at each of the women. There were six, not including Sable or Roxie. 

"I suppose introductions are in order for our soon-to-be cousin in arms?" the girl called Suki asked. 

"I'll do it. You'll just get tangled up on the words again." Sable snorted. 

"Well, I never claimed to be an enlightened intellectual like yourself." Suki shot back, but allowed the she-wolf to conduct the introductions. 

"Right, that's Rayne, Suki, Kay, Lulu, Tilly and Maybelle." Sable pointed to the husky, a saluki, a cream colored labrador, a black and white cat, a cheerful looking mink, and a tawny coyote. 

"Hello...I'm Camdyn, but you already know that." Camdyn smiled and Lulu giggled. 

"Ye who needs no introduction." Maybelle said, striking a mournful pose that sent the others into a fit of laughter which cut off abruptly as a rather grating voice came over to them. 

"Yes, well, I only go after the big payoffs. You know, the leaders. The common pirates aren't worth anything. It's more trouble than it's worth to bring them in alive." a rust colored dingo slouched at the next table. "Isn't that right, Barlowe?" 

A female hyena who was missing the tip of her right ear nodded. "That's right. Either kill 'em or castrate them I say." 

The cat who was talking to them winced. "Why castrate?" 

"Keeps them from breeding more of their filth." the dingo answered. Rayne looked as though she might enjoy popping the dingo's head off of his body. 

"Let it go, Rayne...don't give in. He's just doing it to draw you in!" Suki whispered into the larger huskys ear. "It's just words!" 

Camdyn looked at the dingo. She'd figured out that he was nothing more than a bounty hunter. She listened as he told the cat about all the special equipment he'd put on his plane. Mina tapped her on the shoulder making her jump. 

"Wanna take it?" 

"Take what?" 

"Just a little joyride. Out over the horizon. We'll drop in on you girls in a little while for a midnight snack, ok?" Mina said as she stood up, dragging Camdyn with her. 

Outside it was still drizzling, but the wind had slacked off and it was starting to clear up to the east. Camdyn looked at Mina. 

"What are you talking about?!" 

"Time for you to walk the walk." Mina pointed at a plane. It was obviously the bounty hunters. 

"Wait, you want me to take his plane?!" 

"Of course. Call it your first test. Let's see if you pass, shall we?" 

Mina outlined a plan for Camdyn to follow. She'd have to improvise a bit, but it was the basics. Camdyn made her way over to the plane and calmly climbed into the cockpit. It was slightly damp as it was open to the air. The little monoplane bobbed in the water as if it were ready to cut and run. Camdyn tossed the line off into the water. She looked down at Mina who nodded, then fired the engine. As it roared to life, she began to taxi into the open and hoped that she could remember what Mina had told her about take offs. 

The little plane was in the air before anyone realized that something was up. By the time the dingo had figured it out, Camdyn was buzzing into the sky beyond. 

"Damn you! You disgusting worm! Filthy pirate! I'll hunt you down and have your tail as a antenna ornament!" he screeched after her. Camdyn looked over at Mina nervously, but Mina gave her a reassuring thumbs up and assumed the lead with Camdyn trailing behind her. 

Back on the dock, Baloo and Kit watched the hunter and Barlowe stand looking out in the direction the planes had last been heading. 

"So much for the common pirate not being good enough." Lulu snorted. Maybelle nodded her agreement. They walked past the Sea Duck and climbed aboard a rickety looking old bomber. 

"Well, I see you've learned a hard lesson about messing around with Don Karnage already." Carl, the cat who'd been listening to the hunters tales addressed him. 

"That wasn't Karnage, that was some two-bit crook." 

"In case you didn't notice, that was a CT-35D. A trainer. You ought to be able to put two and two together." 

"What?" 

"They used them in the war to teach student pilots to fly a CT-37. It's the same plane, only a little bigger with an extra cockpit." the hyena informed Johnson. 

"Yes, and only Don Karnage uses CT-37's, Johnson." Carl walked away without another word. 


	7. Wild Women and Frightening Thoughts

----Chapter 6----

"Where are we going, Mina?" Camdyn asked once she'd figured out the radio. 

"Not to port, at least not just yet. We've got to lay low for a while. That guy is a big time bounty hunter and we've just put a one-two punch on him. We're going to Breaker Island. Just follow me." the big bear answered. 

Camdyn wasn't certain if she should answer or just remain quiet, so she chose the latter. She wasn't certain she liked the sound of 'Breaker Island' either. It sounded like a desolate place. Presently, as the two arrived at their destination, Camdyn discovered that, contrary to the image of bare, wind swept rock, Breaker Island was a stereotypical tropic island. It even had a few small patches of palm trees and some small areas of grass. As she followed Mina in she noticed a large rambling house sitting on the land ward side of the islands only rock out cropping. 

"Someone lives here?" she mumbled to herself, abruptly stopping her recon of the area and concentrating on more important matters. Like landing without killing herself. 

Mina clapped her paws together as Camdyn struggled out of the cockpit and neatly rolled off of the wing, landing in a heap on the ground. 

"Congratulations on your very first solo. You should write home and tell your folks." she said giving the vixen a hand in getting up. 

"I'd rather just be able to get in and out of these things without killing myself. I don't think I'll ever be able to get it right." 

"Ah, it comes with practice. Come on, lets get up to the house and let the Ladies know we've arrived." 

"The Ladies? The same ones-" 

"Yes. Come on." Mina said walking off as Camdyn hobbled along behind her, attempting to regain some feeling in her footpaws. She noticed the old bomber plane and wondered how in the world it ever made it off the ground. 

"There you are! It's about time." Roxie called from the front porch of the large house. Camdyn blinked and shook her head as a small naked child ran past her and into the yard. 

"Gertrude! Get back in here!" Rayne shouted as she came to the door. 

"NO! Wanna live inna woods! Wanna be wild woman!" 

"I'll let you live in the voods, if you don't get back here so I can dry you off and get you into some clothes I'll have the Captain take you off to some desert island and leave you!" Rayne snorted. 

"Wanna go! Wanna GO!" Gertie shouted hopping around. 

Sable laughed. "Well, that did not be working as you wanted it to." 

"Haven't you ever heard of what the natives do to little girls?" Mina asked the still hopping Gertie. 

Gertie stopped hopping. "Wha' they be doing?" 

"They put 'em in a greeaaaaaaat big pot..." Mina spread her arms to indicate the size of the pot, "Then they eat 'em all up for dinner!" 

Gertie screeched and ran to her mother who promptly wrapped her in a towel and carried her inside. Sable and Mina laughed. 

"Mommy? There aren't any natives around here are there?" 

"No." 

"Oh good." 

Camdyn looked at Mina. "Did you have to scare her?" 

"Yep." Mina said laughing and disappearing inside the house. 

"How many more kids are running around here?" Camdyn asked Roxie as they followed the others inside. 

"Oh, there's just Gertie, Kelly and William. Call him Will. Never Willy. He hates it." Roxie answered. "Hello WILLY!" she called out to a grayish-brown coyote who looked to be about six years old. He looked up from the game he was playing and stuck his tongue out at Roxie. 

Roxie led Camdyn into a large living room with several couches in it. One of them was occupied by a very pregnant calico cat. 

"Ooooo...why? Tell me why? Why do we always say "Never again" and BOOM! there we go getting ourselves into trouble just one more time?" she asked no one in particular. 

A kitten who was marked like a Siamese but resembled a alley cat answered "Because you loves daddy." 

"Ooo! That stinking no good excuse for a tomcat! I'll...I'll MURDER him when I see him. I swear it! Someone bring me Samuel Kees roasting on a SPIT!" she shouted, waving her arms in the air. 

The kitten looked up at her mother with an amused expression, then noticed Camdyn for the first time. 

"That means she loves him." the kitten said sagely. 

"You're right of course, Kel." Roxie said, grinning. 

Camdyn followed Roxie into the kitchen which seemed to be the center of activity at the moment. 

"So, where'd all the kids come from?" Camdyn asked. 

"Oh lord, don't tell me no ones told the kid about the birds and the bees!" Lulu said with a cheeky grin. 

"That's not what I meant!" Camdyn said quickly, blushing under her white fur. This set up a chorus of giggles from a few of the others. 

"You're looking at the next generation of Air Pirates." Mina said. 

"We've all got ties to the pirates somehow." Roxie said. "Me and Sable are the captains only siblings." 

"Vhy don't you just go ahead and give her de formal introductions? It vill save a lot of confusion later." 

"Well, OK...if you're sure you don't mind..." at every ones waves to continue, Roxie did. 

"Well, you've heard the saying "Behind every great man is a woman"...urm...I'm not sure who to start with!" 

"Me first! Me first!" Gertie said waving a paw in the air. 

"Well, ok. This is Gertrude, and her mother Rayne Dougran, I'm sure you've met her husband, Sven Dougran." Roxie said, grinning at Camdyn's look of confusion. "But I think you know him better as "Dumptruck"." 

"Oh..." Camdyn said. Roxie continued. 

"This is Suki Elverson, but right now she's chasing after Morgan "Mad Dog" Righz. Next we have..." Roxie continued all around until she had named off everyone, even the calico who turned out to be Naomi. (*) 

In the end, Lulu was the sister of a gunner Camdyn hadn't met, Kay was Zoll's girlfriend, Tilly was Maybelle's best friend, Maybelle was Will's wife. Mina quickly related the "Fire At Will" story, much to everyone's amusement. Naomi was married to a tabby cat who worked the radio room. 

"I've only met Hal...I was half expecting one of you to be married to him." 

Kelly paused from her attempts to steal a cookie from the counter and looked at Camdyn. She wrinkled her nose. 

"Hal is icky." At this, Sable laughed and handed the kitten a cookie. 

"She's always right you know." 

Eventually, Camdyn and Mina found a place to sleep once it got too late to stay up. They both comandeered couches in the living room, since the beds were all taken. Camdyn lay looking up at the ceiling. 

"What do you suppose made the captain change his mind?" she asked quietly. She hadn't thought much on it before, due to the excitement, but now it struck her as odd. 

"Hm? What do you mean?" 

"Well, he was arguing against me right?" 

"Yeah." 

"Well, I was getting ready to leave, and he just changed his mind." Camdyn said. She heard Mina move on the other couch. 

"What did he say...exactly. It's important." 

"He just said that I could "Tell the bear she can train you as long as you aren't on my ship" 

"He said that? Exactly?" 

"Pretty much. The only other thing he said was that I was a distraction to the crew." 

"Damn that wolf for the sneaky creep that he is!" 

"Wha?" 

"He tricked us! He said I could train you, as long as we weren't on his ship...but he never told you anything about when to come back, did he?" 

Camdyn didn't even have to answer to know she'd been duped. Karnage had no intention of letting her come back as a member of the crew. He'd just said it to get rid of her. Camdyn's paws gripped the blanket and wished it was the red wolf's throat instead. 

Mina sighed, breaking Camdyn's train of thought. "Well, I suppose there's nothing for it but to teach you and hope you can out-fly the others." 

"What?" 

"We have nearly exactly eight months to get you ready, then we're going to Hell Hole and test you against the other pirates. If you can hold your own, everything will be fine." 

"And if I can't?" 

"If you can't...well, you won't have to worry about anything anymore." 

Camdyn was quiet for a moment then asked, "What do you mean?" 

"You'll be dead." 

(*)A small note about the pronunciation of Mad Dog's last name, it should be pronounced "Ryes" Dumptrucks' is "Doogran" Any resemblance to real pirates, living or in jail, is totally coincidental. 


	8. Lessons

----Chapter 7---- 

Camdyn had difficulty falling asleep, but eventually, she did. The next morning she woke up to see the three children perched on the back of the couch. They stared down at her. 

"Well...um...hello." she said, looking up at them blearily. 

Gertie made a horrible squawking noise and flapped her arms. Camdyn looked puzzled. 

Will giggled. "We're vultures." he said quietly, then squawked loudly. 

"Oh...I see. The vultures are coming down to strip my bones?" 

SQUAWK! 

"Well, it must be a problem because I'm still alive." 

"Yes. Still alive and lazing around in the morning. Up!" Mina said as she walked past with a strange looking sandwich in her hand. 

"What are you eating?" 

"This?" Mina mumbled around a mouthful of the sandwich. She swallowed then continued, "It's a sandwich with bacon, cheese, and egg on it. I call it "Breakfast in a Bun". You know, I think someday people will pay good money for these things. Here, try some." Mina broke off a piece of the sandwich and handed it to Camdyn who eyed it warily. 

"Well? Go on. It's good, I promise." 

Camdyn took a tentative nibble on it and found it was good. She quickly finished it and dusting her paws off remarked, "It is good. It'd be better on a biscuit though." 

Mina looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded slowly. "You may have something there. First things first though, lets get that plane fixed up." 

"What's wrong with it?" 

"Well, nothing really. If you actually like that hideous khaki green color." Mina remarked as she headed out the door. 

"Oh...well, I'm not too fond of it, but shouldn't I be learning to fly instead of painting?" 

"Paint first. Fly later." 

Camdyn shrugged, following Mina outside and down the dusty dirt landing strip. Someone had moved the planes off the runway and into a hangar. There were three hangars in all, one was bigger than the other two and Camdyn supposed that it was where the bomber plane was stored. 

"The first thing, is you need to get to know this plane a little better. It'll probably be your best ally once you join the pirates. First off, do you know what kind of plane it is?" Mina said disappearing into a small storage room and emerging with the paint. 

"Urrrr...I'm not really sure. It kinda looks like the CT's, but there's something not right about it." 

"Well, you're right, and here's a little history lesson for you. It is a CT. It's not a 37 though. It's a 43. It was the only one they made after the 37's that could actually catch one of them. The rest of them are mostly crap with wings attached." 

"But...I thought they would progress-" 

"They should have. But they fired their best designers." Mina said handing Camdyn a brush. "Most people don't like the CT line anymore. There are nicer looking planes out there now." Mina smiled and got an impish gleam in her eye. 

"So, what you're saying, is that people went more for looks?" 

"Exactly. The CT's are kinda ugly, and they don't like to climb too steep, but they're powerful, tough and can outrun anything they can't overcome." 

"I see why the pirates like them." 

"When your tail is in the fire, you want something that'll get you out of it. And quick. This one isn't even a true CT-43. That bounty hunter has made adjustments to it. I suspect that many a pirate got a good laugh last night." 

"Huh?" 

"That hunter's name is Clyde Johnson. He likes to call himself "The Hound" though." Mina said bitterly. "He likes to hunt down outlaws like they were some sort of...of...creature. Like a gorilla bird. He's tried to torment information out of some of these girls, but they wouldn't give him anything. Sable only missed him by about two inches." 

"Missed him?" 

"Yes. She tried to blow his head off with a hand gun, but he moved." 

Camdyn didn't like the way Mina casually talked about Sable's attempt on someones life like she was just commenting on the weather. She looked down at her work and tried to shake the image out of her head. Mina sensed the vixen's distaste. 

"You think I'm sick, don't you?" 

Camdyn didn't know what to say, fortunately, Mina continued. 

"Do you have any idea what he's done? What he'd do to me? Or to you? Or Mad Dog, Dumptruck, Karnage, Zoll or any of the others? What he has done already?" 

Camdyn looked up at her and shook her head. 

"That damned dingo has tortured people to get information. He's beaten up a ten year old child in front of it's mother. He's attempted to assult both Sable and Roxie in an attempt at getting to Karnage. He's even killed before." 

Camdyn was quiet a moment. "Wait, if he's killed people, why isn't he in jail?" 

Mina looked at the vixen sadly. "Who's gonna miss a kid no one even knows?" 

"It was a kid?" Camdyn looked shocked. 

"Yeah. Johnson's days are numbered, and he doesn't even know it." 

"Wh--...who was it?" Camdyn asked quietly after a few minutes. 

Mina shuffled her feet, uncertain of whether she should say. "I tell you this, and you don't ever tell anyone else, you understand me?" At Camdyn's barely perceptible nod, she finally relented. 

"The kid's name was Zandria Righz. She was Mad Dog's sister. He nearly lost his mind when he found out. Seems Johnson thought Zan would know where her big brother was hiding. The logic was sound, find Mad Dog, find Karnage...but it didn't work out that way. Johnson must have pushed her a little harder than he intended, or maybe he did it on purpose, but either way, Zan fell over the banister in the apartement building she was hiding in and fell three stories to her death. Mad Dog hasn't been quite the same since." 

"Is that why they call him 'Mad Dog'?" Camdyn asked. She went back to work with her brush, painting quickly in an attempt to hide how horrified she was. 

"Not really. It just helped reinforce the name. But, you remember that shotgun he had when..well, on the ship?" 

"Yes." 

"Mad Dog said he's gonna kill Johnson with it. But that's not the half of it. You haven't seen the wierd...well, he calls them 'tricks' that he can do with that thing. Well, enough about that. What are you gonna call your plane?" Mina said, looking at the vixen. 

"Oh...I'm not sure. Do you have any ideas?" 

"Oh, I have lots of ideas, but it's your plane. You have to name it." 

"Does yours have a name?" 

" Of course. I called her "Pandora". I heard a story once about this puzzling box and that's what it was called, and I thought it was appropriate." 

"Really? But what do you call a plane? I just know the others would laugh me right off Pirate Island..." 

"Oh, you can call it anything really. Most of the 'others' have named theirs too. We have one we called "Frank" it's really short for "Frankenstien" there's another one called "Sleeper", "Fancy", "Freako" and "Fling". It's a tradition." Mina said, enthusiastic to pursue a lighter topic of conversation. 

"Freako? You're serious?" Camdyn said giving Mina a look that said she what she thought of the name. And she thought it was wierd. 

"Think of a name." 

"What if I pick the same one as someone else?" 

"I'll let you know." 

Camdyn sighed. There was no way around naming a piece of machinery. They continued painting, with Camdyn thinking in silence. There was no way she was naming it something stupid like "Bob" or "Polka Dottie" 

"Pirates are so wierd." Camdyn blurted. Mina laughed. 

"Are you just now figuring that out?" 

"Well, I started to suspect it when I found out about the cockroach races, but now I know. None of you act like the pirates you read about in books or see in the pictures." 

"Of course not. What? Did you expect them all to run around with peg legs, eye patches, parrots, and hook hands saying things like "Arrrr..." and "Shiver Me Timbers"?" 

"Oh that's not what I meant...I meant...well...what I..." Camdyn gave up. Then she burst out laughing. She couldn't stop laughing and tears began to roll down her face. 

"What's so funny?" 

"I...heeheee...just thought...hahahaaaa...that Karnage...whooOooo...could prob-hee-abheeheeeheeeeee...probably...pull it off!" At that, Mina began to laugh at the mental image of Don Karnage with a peg leg, eye patch and a big parrot screeching "AAAAAARRRRR!" at some poor unsuspecting cargo pilots. That would probably reinforce the idea that he was stark raving mad. He wasn't, of course, he took great insult in being called insane. Mina supposed that he just enjoyed doing things to put his crew off balance. 

After the laughing fit, the two worked solidly on getting the plane repainted for the rest of the day. 

Like it? Hate it? Think I went entirely the wrong way? Tell me in a review! (I'll never know otherwise!) 


	9. Gryphon

-----Chapter 8----- 

Camdyn rubbed her hands together to try to work the aches out of them as she sat on the porch with the Ladies. They'd painted all day and finally gotten it done. She'd learned quite a bit from the bear. She could now name off at least some of the parts of the plane that weren't obvious and actually know where and what she was talking about. 

The children had evidently tired of their game of 'vultures' and were now digging a big hole in the front yard. Camdyn sighed. She still hadn't come up with a good name. Rayne huffed something about burying the kids in the hole up to their necks and went out to stop them before they dug the hole all the way to Catmandoo. 

"You trying to dig a hole all the way down down down to china-town?" Sable grumbled as they trooped onto the porch. 

Gertie grinned and said, "We were digging to BFE!" 

"Gertrude! Enough! Where do you learn things like that anyway?" 

"From Will..." 

"Uh-uh! Wasn't me. It was Sable! She said that she was sick of flying to BFE every other day." the coyote pointed at the wolfess. 

"They don't even know what it means. It is harmless." Sable said. 

"That's all the more reason they shouldn't be saying it!" Rayne said. Sable shrugged, turned and looked out over the trees to the ocean. 

"Story!" Kelly demanded of Roxie. The other two joined in the chorus. 

"Oh all right! Which one tonight?" Roxie asked. 

"The one wif the pirates. You know, and the people who never grow up and fly...you know...Peanut Pants." Gertie said, enthusiastically wriggling in Rayne's lap. 

"Oh, you want me to tell Peter Pan, right?" 

There was much nodding of heads and for a moment Camdyn wondered if they'd all get dizzy from it, then Roxie began and they settled down. It was the strangest redition of "Peter Pan" Camdyn had ever heard, but suddenly, she snapped wide awake. 

"I've got it!" 

"Got what?" Mina asked. Roxie paused her story while the children looked over and tried to guess what it was Camdyn had. 

"A cold?" 

"A froggie?" 

"I know! I know! You've got fleas!" 

"No no no...I've got the name! I've figured out what I'll call my plane. What do you think about the name "pixie"?" 

The group looked at each other, then at Camdyn, then at Mina. 

"You didn't tell her did you?" Roxie asked Mina, fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt. 

"Tell me what?" Camdyn asked. Mina looked uncomfortable, then got up to leave. Roxie jabbed Sable in the shoulder. 

"What?" 

"Go. Talk to her. I think we hurt her feelings." Sable glared at Roxie, but moved off the porch and followed the bear. 

"What did I do?" Camdyn asked. 

"Oh, you didn't do anything. It's all right...it's just Mina is still a little...well, she's mad about something my brother said." Roxie said, flopping on the steps and beginning to draw little circles and curliques in the sand. Camdyn looked confused and Suki moved over closer to her. 

"What could make her that upset?" Camdyn asked. 

"Oh lots of things...but I really wish Don Karnage would learn to shut up at some point." 

Roxie turned to face the saluki. "You better not let him hear you talking about him like that, you know how angry he gets." 

"I'm not afraid of him." Suki muttered, but dropped her gaze. 

"I suppose it would only be fair to tell her what it was, you know." Rayne suggested. Roxie sighed and nodded. 

"Don't interrupt me while I tell you this, OK? You can ask me about stuff later. Anyway, well, a while back Mina decided to train up a girl to take her place in my brothers crew. Yeah, I know, you'd think she was, I dunno, second-in-command or something like that wouldn't you? Well, she taught this girl everything she knew, showed her how to practically _run_ a pirate ship. Mina was a captain once you know. Anyway, the girl has to go through the Trials, only she chickens out, and, well, you see." 

Camdyn shook her head. "I don't see...what are the Trials?" 

"The Trials is really just a test to see if you can make it as a pirate. It's horrid. They hold it at Hell Hole, yeah, funny name...until you see the place. It's a giant sinkhole. Just WhooSH! and the whole damn town sank into it. No one wanted to live there and everyone says it's haunted, so, the pirates have just encouraged that idea a little." 

"But, what happened to the girl?" 

"Well, you see, during the Trials, you have to completely outwit an entire horde of pirates." Roxie said. She shook her head at Camdyn. "It's not as easy as you think. The Hole is on an island and you only have so far to run to before you hit the ocean. Pixie, that's what they called her on account of her being so small, well, she was scared. I think she was scared right off, you know? Scared to death of getting caught, scared of falling, but Mina coached her through it...and well, Pixie, she takes off with her plane, she's going to just get the heck out of there, but...no one leaves once they've been there. Not unless you leave as part of a crew. Most of them do, you know, everyone needs someone at some point. I think sometimes a few of the captains get a little soft-hearted and take in the stragglers just so they don't get culled." 

"Culled? You mean-" 

"Yeah. They kill you if you don't make it and you refuse to stay. They can't have people leading the police back to their base. Well, that's what happened to Pixie...she actually made it to her plane and was leaving before they really noticed...but they went after her and shot her down...and she never even lived to see the water coming up at her." 

Camdyn shivered suddenly. This was what she was going after? A chance to get killed? Shot up like Pixie who came before her. Suddenly, she recalled what Karnage had said to Mina, what he'd said about guilt of failure, and now she understood. Karnage was implicating that Mina was replacing her lost trainee with her. 

Camdyn's mind whirled with thoughts that she would die in those monsterous Trials, and somehow, she found she had the right name. Monsters, ones that horded treasure, ones that were noble and could be just as kind as they could be vicious. Gryphons. 

At that moment, Mina re-appeared with Sable following her. Mina didn't look upset, she just looked tired. 

"Mina, I-" 

The bear held up her hand to stop Camdyn. "It's allright. I- I couldn't really expect you to know." she said quietly. 

Camdyn was silent a moment, then said, "I just wanted to say that I changed my mind. I've decided to call her "Gryphon"." 

Sable looked slightly perplexed. "Gryphon?" she muttered, turning the unfamiliar word over in her mouth. Mina looked confused, then she put the myth in place. 

"They were half-lion, half-eagle creatures that guarded hordes of treasure that they'd stolen. They tended to eat anyone who tried to steal it back." she said, and the mystified look on Sable's face disappeared. 

"It is a good name. They are just a cheeky as the plane, yes?" 

"Gryphon it is then." Camdyn said as Mina sat on the steps next to Roxie. 

"Well, it's gotta be better than "Vulture" by any means." Mina said with a laugh. 

Camdyn was startled when Sable's voice whispered in her ear "No harm done, you know? Relax." Sable disappeared into the house before Camdyn could turn around. 


	10. History and Conniving Bearesses

-----Chapter 9-----

Nothing more was ever mentioned about ill-fated Pixie after that. Mina never brought it up, and Camdyn understood. Camdyn went through the hardest lessons she'd ever encountered. It occurred to her that these weren't like school lessons, this was serious business in spite of Mina's frequent jokes. Mina backed up this by announcing abruptly one evening that they were leaving for Port Parides in the morning. 

"We've learned all we can here. You need to learn how to live on your feet and off your wits and you can't learn that here." She said. "We've already been here two months." 

Camdyn sighed, almost imperceptibly. If it wasn't for Mina's determination to make a pirate out of her, she'd be more than glad to stay here with the Ladies. 

"Don't worry. We'll be back at some time. I just don't know when." Mina said, grinning. 

"Does everyone get this sort of treatment?" Camdyn asked. 

"No. Just the lucky ones. The others have to fend for themselves." Mina said, seriously. 

"You never did tell me exactly why you picked me..." 

"Well, I'm not sure why. Maybe it was the fact that you tried to get away when everyone else was crying like babies." Mina mused on the subject. "Or maybe it's because you remind me of someone." 

Camdyn wondered who. Pixie? That was always a possibility. 

"How many people have you done this for anyway?" 

"Oh, probably about...eight or nine. Why?" 

"I was just wondering who it was I reminded you of." 

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." 

"Try me! Come on...please?" the vixen begged with a grin. Mina shook her head. 

"Nope. Not gonna do it." 

"Then who did you train? I'll see if I can guess." 

"Well, there was The Rabbit, then Faite, Randall, Ginny, Diego, Invertego, that's a nickname you know, you already know about the seventh, Carl and then you." 

"That's not fair...you didn't tell me who they were." 

Mina laughed. You didn't ask 'who are they' you just asked for their names. Well, you've only met three of them, and it's one of those three." 

"Who have I met?" 

"Well, you've only met Diego good and properly, Invertego and Carl you've seen, but not talked to." 

"I still don't know. Who the heck is Diego?" 

"Well, I believe you've also met his sisters." Mina was thoroughly enjoying her game. 

"Waaaait an minute...Don Karnage?" 

"The very same. But I wouldn't go around calling him that. I only get away with it because I taught him everything he knows." 

"Not every little thing. Father taught him some too." Sable said as she walked outside carrying a glass of iced tea. 

Mina snorted. "Yes, how to try and sweet talk the ladies and that's about it." 

"I never said he taught him anything useful." the patchworked wolfess grinned, taking a sip. 

"He still doesn't teach anyone anything useful. That wolf is the biggest flirt I've ever met." Mina said. 

"Wait...if this guy is your father, he'd be somewhere around..." 

"78." Sable supplied. "And still as disturbing as ever." 

"Disturbing?" 

"He's seventy-eight. And he tries to flirt with Mina shamelessly. While his wife is following him around ready to rip his eyelids off. He is disturbing, yes?" 

Camdyn laughed. She couldn't help it. The mental picture of Don Karnage's father following around the girls while being followed by his wife was funny. 

"Don't get me wrong though. He's not as bad as he sounds." 

"Excepting the part where he danced naked around the beach." Sable said. 

"He wasn't naked, Sable. He was wearing his underpants." Roxie said laughing as she caught what was being said. 

"He was wearing them on his head! That is being naked to me!" 

"What happened that time?" Camdyn asked. 

"Oh, he got into some liquor. He can't take the hard stuff, but doesn't listen to anyone." 

This was proof enough to Camdyn that no matter how old you got or how fearsome you were, your parents could still embarrass you. 

"What about your family?" Sable asked. She had finally started to warm up to the vixen, but they weren't the best of friends. 

"Well, my father is a business man. He runs this shipping company and my uncle works for him. He's the uncle I told you about Mina." 

"What about your mother? Do you not have one?" Sable asked. Roxie looked at her suspiciously. 

"Oh, um...she doesn't live with us. She...lives on an island." 

"Why? She does not like your fathers smelly socks?" 

"Oh no...it's just, they never got married you see. I lived with her until I was eight, then my father came and got me and said he was giving a good home to a poor wretched child. I hated him for it." 

"You do not like your father?" 

"Well, he's alright...in his way. He thinks a woman's place is in the home, not wandering abroad. I refused to let him take away my last name so I've still got my mothers. I ran away the first chance I got." 

Sable nodded sagely and was quiet. Roxie huffed and walked back inside. Camdyn looked after her, slightly bewildered. 

"I am wondering what my brother thought of Carl's information." Sable said after a few minutes. 

"If I know him, he'll be plotting world domination." Mina answered. 

"Or at least a small part of it." Sable retorted. She got up and went inside. She hadn't made it farther than the kitchen when Roxie accosted her. 

"Just who are you gathering information for, Sable?" the gray wolf growled as she washed dishes. 

"No one. I was curious." Sable said. 

"That's a lie. Who are you sniffing for? Our brother?" 

Sable sighed. You couldn't fool Roxie for long. "Yes. Our illustrated brother wants to know a bit more about the vixen. I tried to talk him out of it, but you know how he gets." 

"Why's he so interested?" 

Sable smiled at Roxie. "I think he is keeping an eye on her. You know, I would almost swear she has something he is wanting." 

"Humph. What could she have? All I know is that Mina wants to make a captain out of her." 

"Really? She won't make it." 

"Why the loss of faith, sis?" Roxie looked at Sable. 

"She wouldn't make a good captain. Perhaps a tactician. Definitely a crew member, but not a captain ever. She doesn't have the personality, she can't send people into someplace where they might get hurt." Sable mused. 

"Wrong personality, huh? Well, you know more about it than me. Seeing as you used to run around with Diego." 

"Hmmm...she could make it. Yes." Sable said distractedly, then laughing. 

"What's so funny?" 

"Oh, just that Mina is a conniving type bear." 

------------------------------ 

The tabby cat sighed again. He hated reporting in to Karnage. You could never tell where his act ended and he began. Therefore it was sometimes hard to tell when he might take a swing at you with that sword. He raised his paw and knocked on the door of Karnage's office. The Den as the tabby preferred to think to himself. 

"Yes, yes...come in. What are you, some type of bird which pecks at the wood?" Karnage sounded irritated. As the tabby opened the door he could see why. The wolfs office looked like a hurricane had blown through it. "I will use their stinking hides as throw rugs! I will pickle their insignificant tiny little minds!" he growled to himself as he sorted through the papers and charts. The tabby decided it might be better not to ask what had happened. 

"Are you going to stand there all the live long-ed day or are you going to be telling me something to make me happy?" 

"Well, I was at Louies a few weeks ago. While I was there I saw The Hunter and that she-hyena he hangs around with and talked to them." he ducked an object that looked decidedly like a rubber chicken and decided not to ask about that either. "They said the usual same old, same old. The Ladies were there too, with your sisters." Karnage winced at this but let the cat continue uninterrupted. Where the Ladies were concerned, trouble wasn't far in coming. 

"Well, there was Mina, big as life with some little vixen. Well, Mina says "Let's go out for a joyride." and drags the vixen outside. Well, get this, they stole Johnson's plane." 

Karnage's ears flicked at that. "They stole it? They got away?" he asked, distracted for a moment by something shiny under a piece of paper. 

"Yes. Got away and Johnson was standing there gawking and screeching like a parrot with it's tail on fire." 

"An amusing story...well, have you got anything else? Something I might actually be able to use?" 

"I was getting to that, sir. After they stole his plane, he started ranting like a lunatic. He apparently hid some sort of map in the plane, one that tells where he's going to be at any given time. You know, a map to his lairs like. That's the only thing that's kept him alive this long and he knows it." 

"The vixen...she has the location of his lair? So. He will change the places he goes." Karnage waved a hand in the air dismissively and continued his search with the other. 

"Well, after that the hyena suggested some plans to him, and he decided that he'd search all the ports around until he found the vixen and the plane. So, as far as I know, he's looking to be in Port Parides in a few days." 

Karnage stopped searching. "Why did you not tell me this first?" he snapped. Before the cat could answer, a devious gleam reflected in Karnage's eyes. "Perhaps we should plan a little surprise party for him, yes/no?" 

Carl gulped. He didn't even want to imagine what the pirates would dream up to do to the bounty hunter. He nodded and left the room, leaving Karnage to his search. No sooner had he closed the door, Karnage found what he was looking for. He tucked his diary into his pocket and, sighing, pondered about making someone clean up this mess. 


	11. Parides and an Antelope

-----Chapter 10----- 

Mina and Camdyn left Breaker Island behind them and after a few hours of uneventful flying, landed in Port Parides. Parides was a pirate town, literally. The pirates, smugglers, and legitimate traders worked the docks in the town. The pirates converted their stolen goods into cash, the smugglers smuggling whatever they happened to have, and the legit traders making a fortune from the people the pirates stole the cargo from in the first place. 

Farther away were the businesses of the town. They were rougher than most places, they had to be when half of their clientele had sticky fingers and wouldn't mind stealing what they couldn't buy. There were several bars as well as places for unwitting weary travellers to lose their money and belongs overnight should they decide to stay. 

The bearess and her protoge arrived right in the middle of some sort of dispute between the pirates and the smugglers. A large crowd was gathered around and as Mina shoved her way through, Camdyn caught sight of...police officers? 

"All right, all right...you give 'em back what you took, and don't try and tell me that you didn't take nothing, 'cause I know better." a golden retriever grumbled at a small group of rather worn looking pirates. They shuffled their feet and the ferret, who appeared to be their leader, mumbled something. 

"Wot do you mean 'we sold it'? That was me rightful property!" 

The retriever waved his paw, silencing the smuggler. 

"Then give them the money you got for it!" 

The ferret held out a paw and gave the irate smuggler what had been in her pocket. 

"That's it?" 

"Yes." 

"That was worth three times this much..." 

"Mangos ain't worth nothing...and we ate some of 'em." The pirates suddenly turned and ran, dispersing into the crowd and losing anyone who might be trying to follow them. 

"Why those sneakin' little-" 

"Be glad you got what you did. Now, get! Before I start takin' names." the retriever growled. 

Camdyn followed closer to Mina. 

"What? Didn't expect law enforcement did you?" Mina laughed at the look on her face. 

"Well, frankly, no. I thought pirates were all about breaking rules." 

"Everyone elses rules. Not our own. Though sometimes we stretch them a bit." Mina craned her head to see where she was heading. 

"Where are we going?" 

"To find an old friend of mine. She'll help us out." 

"Huh?" Camdyn asked, but Mina grabbed her by her coatsleeve and hurried her along. When she stopped, they were standing in front of an unremarkable gray building. Mina knocked on the door and a muffled voice answered. 

"Who is it?" 

"It's me. Mina." 

"Well, why didn't you say so?" the door opened to reveal a female antelope. She looked at them. "About time you came to visit your old friend Faun. Come in." 

Camdyn was pushed inside, Mina following her. Faun pushed the door back closed and locked it while Camdyn stared at the interior of the building. It was draped with expensive looking fabrics of every color, silver, gold and crystal glinted in the dim lighting. There was a stage set back in the far wall, with tables and chairs in front of it. A bar stretched along another wall and a curved staircase led upstairs into the gloom. 

"Leaves you kind of speechless, don't it?" Faun asked the vixen. "We're not open right now, as you can tell. Everyone needs some time off, don't you think?" Every time the antelope moved her head, the tiny gold bells attached to the ends of her horns made a merry jingling noise. 

"And you most of all." Mina said, pulling out a chair at the nearest table and sitting down, Camdyn sat next to her. 

"So true. It's so hard running a place like this." Faun said sitting on the edge of a nearby table. Camdyn already had an inkling of what exactly a 'place like this' was. "Well, you never came around without needing something, so what is it this time?" 

"Just a place to stay." 

"Really? For how long?" 

"A few months." 

"Hrmph." 

"Well?" 

"Well, I need some sort of payment. I could let you stay a week or two without worrying, but, months?" Camdyn didn't like the way the antelope was looking at her. 

"No." Mina said firmly. 

"No? Really. It's not hard work...once you get used to it." Faun said in a wheedling tone. 

"No." Camdyn said. 

"You can't live on the street here you know." the antelope said, completely unaffected by the vixen's growl. 

"I have a plane. I'll find somewhere else. I won't do it. It was the one thing I promised my mother I would never do." 

"It's the second oldest profession in the world, you know. Followed by piracy and preceeded by medicine." 

"I don't care how long people have been doing it. I won't." With that, Camdyn stood and started toward the door. Mina reached across the table and thwaped the antelope on the hand. 

"She dances." Mina whispered. 

"Really? She dances?" Faun said loud enough for Camdyn to hear. 

"What of it?" Camdyn asked over her shoulder. Her defenses were still up. 

"I was just thinking that we haven't had a good dancer here for ages. Can't keep them, you see. Always running off." Faun had dropped her wheedling tone and was all business. "Perhaps you'd be interested?" 

"What would I have to do?" 

"Nothing much really. Just a little dance-" 

"With clothing, correct?" 

"Of course. No free shows here. As I was saying it's just a little song and dance, a bit silly if you ask me, but the gents seem to like it well enough." 

"And I wouldn't have to be available after the show?" 

"No. You wouldn't have to be available." 

Camdyn looked back at Mina. 

"It's your choice." the bear said. 

"I'll stay then." 

"Splendid. I'll round up the rest of the chorus and let them show you the routine!" Faun was already up and moving. 

Camdyn sat back down next to Mina. 

"I'm sorry. Sometime Faun forgets how people feel about, her...business. I didn't think she would press the matter, and I don't think she meant to offend you." the bearess said. 

"What about you?" 

"Me? Are you kidding? I've got better skills than that." Mina said. "I never told you I can mix drinks did I?" 

"No, you didn't. I'm beginning to suspect that there's a lot more to this than I first thought." 

"This?" 

"You know...the whole thing. I mean, at first I went with you because I was scared of what those people would have done to me, and now, I just want to show everyone I can do this." 

"It's not gonna be pretty. There's still a whole lot you have to learn. Stuff I can't teach you." 

"Why can't you teach me?" 

"Well, 'cause I don't know myself, or it's something you have to apprentice for." 

"Apprentice? What in the world could be so complicated that you'd have to do that?" 

"Oh, well, captaincy for one. Say you decide to become a captain, well, you'd have to find someone will to teach you and you'd serve under them for a predetermined amount of time, then you go off on your own, gather some crew and bam, your Captain Camdyn. Ha. That's kinda cute you know." 

"Haha. Better than Camdyn the Cockroach...that's what the kids were calling me when I left." 

Faun came back down, breathless. 

"Hey Mina, you aren't going to guess who I just saw." 

"Don't make me guess Faun. I've had a rough day." 

"Ok, ok, well, The Rabbit is headed this way, followed closely by that crazy wolf of yours." 

"Karnage? He's here?" Mina asked, standing up abruptly. 

"Sure. Unless there's another phsycopathic wolf running around." 

At that precise moment there came a muffled shout from outside. Faun rolled her eyes and opened the door. 

"Rabbit, I swear, you are so...so...STUPID. How many times have I told you not to bother Karnage? How many? Huh?" 

"I don't know! Just keep him away from me!" said Rabbit was now running through the tables in an effort to get to the other side before Karnage. 

"Where are you running? You are a disgusting flea-ridden mangy excuse for an easter bunny!" Karnage finally caught up with the rabbit. 

"Aiiiiie!" a blur of black fur came off the stairs and flying tackled Karnage. 

"Run run, Rabbit...I've caught this one. He's so cute when he's angry." the blur, now distingusable as a black-furred squirrel, sat on Karnage's chest. 

He growled at her. 

"So cute." 

"Are you possessing all your chickens in one egg?" Karnage asked, struggling to get loose. 

"Yep." 

"Well, why do you not go make me an omelette?!" 

"OK!" the blur bounced to her feet and trotted away. 

"I hate that squirrel!" Karnage shouted, then noticed Mina and Camdyn for the first time. He looked at up at them, somewhat baffled. Mina laughed. 

"Well, it was probably all just a ruse to let the rabbit get away." 

"What are you doing here?" Karnage asked. He looked absolutely furious as he got up from the floor, dusting himself off. 

"I might ask you the same thing." 

"Do not play the word games with me." 

"I'm not a member of your crew while I'm here. Remember? Oh, and by the way..." Mina moved quickly and pushed the wolf backwards before he had a chance to react. "Just when were you planning on letting us come back? It seems to be a point you neglected to mention before." Karnage was pinned against the wall by Mina, she held him there by the front of his coat. 

"What?" 

"Don't play dumb with me, Diego. I know what you're up to. You were hoping that I'd lose her, weren't you?" 

"I am not knowing what you are talking about. Kindly remove your large disgusting paws from my person." he pushed Mina's hands away. Mina growled, and Karnage's hand twitched as though he'd feel better with his cutlass in it. It was evident from his expression that very few people had ever tried that, and even fewer had lived to tell about it. 

"He's a tricky one." Faun said to no one in particular. 

"I was hoping she might run away." Karnage admitted as Mina backed off. "Then I would not have to take on a-" 

"A woman?" Mina challenged. Karnage scowled at her. 

"Another worthless idiot." Karnage finished. 

"Hey...I'm not an idiot." Camdyn said, taking a step forward. 

"I do not remember speaking to you." Karnage growled. 

"Well, I don't appreciate being insulted. I'm not one of your lackeys." Camdyn crossed her arms and scowled back at him defiantly. Mina seemed somewhat surprised by Camdyn's outburst. 

"Not yet." he said, scowling. 

"So tell me, did you come all this way just to harrass us?" Mina asked. 

Karnage smiled wickedly. "No, no, not at all. My wonderous self came here because I am looking for something." With that, the red furred wolf turned and disappeared outside. 

"I wonder what he's looking for." Faun mumbled. 

"Who knows. It's probably another one of those hairbrained ideas he gets. You remember the one where he stole all of the cats in town and was selling them back to people at twenty dollars apiece, don't you?" Mina said. 

"How could I forget. He kept them until the mice were doing jigs on peoples tables, then played the Pied Piper and got rid of the mice. You know, I don't think people even realized he was the one who stole the cats in the first place!" Faun said. "Hello, Rabbit." 

"How'd you know I was here?" Rabbit said glumly. He looked more like a hare than a rabbit. 

"The smell! Did Karnage chase you here all the way from the docks?" 

"Of course! That crazy wolf, I swear...he was trying to get me to let him have a look through one of the planes down there." 

"Really? Somebody steal something from him?" Faun asked as she pushed the winded hare into a chair. 

"Naw. He was just being nosy I think. He seemed to think the person had, get this, maps." 

"Of course people have maps. It's how they get from here to there to everywhere." 

"Oh they weren't just any old maps, apparently, they're supposed to show the location of every single hideout of the Hunter. Not to mention all his research into trying to find Karnage's island and several other places." 

"He's nuttier than peanut brittle." 

"That's what I said...well, not in that way." 

By now Camdyn was absorbed in their conversation. It was obvious that the two knew each other well. They bantered back and forth without seeming to think about it. 

"How did you tell him?" she asked, her ears perked. 

"Oh, I looked him straight in the eye, and I says, "You're blinking crazy." Really sets him off for some reason." 

"Wait just a minute...you said he was trying to get in a plane?" Mina asked. 

"Yeah. A little white one. Said it was Johnson the Hunter's plane." 

Camdyn jumped as Mina suddenly bolted out the door. 

"Where are you going?!" she yelled after the bear. She could scarcely believe Mina could move that fast. The bear didn't answer, just kept going. Even though the street was crowded she easily slipped through. Camdyn looked at Rabbit, then after Mina. With a sigh she tore off after Mina. 

She trailed the bear down to the pier. Once she saw the state of her plane she understood what had happened. 

"Karnage tricked him, didn't he?" 

Mina nodded. Camdyn stepped through some of the mess and looked at it. 

"Did you ever go through that stuff?" 

"No. I didn't really think about it until now. What do you suppose they were after that map for?" 

"Well, I assume it had some sort of importance. Maybe it showed Johnson's hideouts, maybe it gave away pirate havens...either way, we'll never know." Mina let out a huge sigh. 

Camdyn just stared straight ahead. There was a sort of anger building inside of her. She had been duped. Outwitted. Outfoxed, even. And she didn't appreciate it one bit. She unconciously let out a growl. 

Mina looked at the angry vixen. "Whoooooa there...calm down." Mina stepped over and gripped Camdyn by her shoulders. 

"I'll...I'll..." 

"You'll do what? Catch Karnage and demand the map back? Fight him for it?" 

"If that's what it takes to make him respect me..." 

"That's what it'll take to get yourself killed. You don't have any clue how to fight. The best advice I was ever given was to avoid a fight and when that wasn't possible, to choose them wisely." 

"He's still here then." Camdyn pulled away from the bear and began stalking down the docks. 

"Hey! What do you think your doing? Get back here..." Mina started off after the vixen, muttering under her breath. 

Don Karnage was indeed still in the city. But Camdyn wouldn't find him. Her anger burned out before too long, though she searched for the better part of an hour. In the process, Mina started to show her around the city. Camdyn later suspected that the bear had led her away from her target and vowed not to let it happen again. She was learning. 


	12. A Rebellious Vixen and Devious Captains

-----Chapter 11----- 

Eventually the two ended up back at Faun's place, where Camdyn was finally able to see the show she was supposed to do. 

"Let me get this straight...that's the show? They pay money to see that?" 

"No. They pay money to drink and gamble and...urm. Otherwise entertain themselves." Faun said diplomatically. 

"It's the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life." Camdyn muttered. 

"I suppose it would seem much more sophisticated after a few drinks." the antelope said wisely. 

"I suppose." 

"Well...I think you might want to retire to your room before we open..." Faun said, then looking at Mina continued, "So I'll show you to them, right?" 

"Fine by me. I could use a little nap." Mina said, stifling a yawn. 

Camdyn merely nodded and followed the others up the huge staircase. The upstairs was just as fancy as the downstairs. It seemed like Faun was leading them around forever before she stopped in front of two doors, one on either side of the hall. "This one will be Mina's..." she said pointing at the door marked "0", "And this one is yours." she said gesturing at the other, marked with a star. 

"Now, if you'll excuse me...I have to go get everything set up for tonight." 

"Zero?" Camdyn asked, peering at the marker on the door. Mina smiled. 

"Yep. It's an old joke...Faun once asked me how much money I expected to make as a pirate and I told her I could never have less than zero." 

"Oh, I see. She gave me one with a star. I suppose it's my dressing room, huh?" 

"I suppose so." Mina said, laughing. "Well, good night...I'm just about a zombie here." 

"Good night." Camdyn said, watching the bear close the door. She opened hers, wincing at the loud groan it made. 

"Oh, and one more thing...don't go out without me." Mina said, opening her door a crack. 

Camdyn didn't answer, just went into her own room. The bear sighed, closing the door again. 

"I swear...I'm getting too old for this. I'm never taking on a canine again...first, there's that wicked wolf and now I'm stuck with a finicky fox..." she mumbled as she headed for the shower that was in a smaller room off hers. "If she thinks she'll get out of here without me knowing she's got another thing coming. I could hear that door a mile away." 

Camdyn was trying to figure a way to get out of the room without Mina knowing it at that precise moment. 

"Can't go out the door, too much noise. Can't go out the window...cause there's no window. Can't go through the ducting...too small." She sighed and flopped onto the bed. She didn't want to be cooped up just yet, she wanted to see if she could find out where Karnage had gone with that map. She didn't know why she cared, she certainly hadn't known about the map until earlier that day. It was just a small thing, but it ate at her. The principle of the thing, she had decided, was what bothered her. Camdyn sighed and flopped back, and in doing so, saw how she would escape. 

"The transom! Now if I could get to it..." Camdyn looked around the room and spied a chair beside a small table. Perfect. 

Sliding the chair over to the door allowed the vixen to grip the lower edge of the transom. She carefully pushed it open and, with a struggle, lifted herself up and through the small window. Hanging there, half in, half out, she pondered the how wise the decision was. 

"Oh dear...now what?" Camdyn muttered to herself. Her problem was solved when her grip slipped and she dropped to the floor. 

Camdyn froze, listening for Mina. After a few minutes, when no sounds came from the room across the hall, she began creeping down the hallway. She managed to make it as far as the stairway, ducking and hiding in the shadows whenever someone came along. 

Peering over the railing, she noted that Faun was nowhere to be seen. Camdyn decided it might be best to just act casual. She was amazed at how easy it was to slip out unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of the crowd. Once outside, Camdyn was faced with a decision, to go check near the docks or go into the town further. Debating on it, she decided to go farther into town, as the docks would probably be watched by the Rabbit, who, she was certain, would report her back to Mina. Hoping her instincts would help her, Camdyn disappeared into the town. 

After wandering around trying to get her bearings, Camdyn found a bar that at least looked hospitable. She wasn't much for drinking, but she bet there wouldn't be any better place to listen for information. 

----- 

"What do you mean she's gone?" Mina asked, stressed. 

"Just that. She must've slipped out somehow." Faun said. "Where would she go? I mean, she doesn't exactly know anyone." 

"She's gone after Karnage. I just knew it! Damn them both! I've got to catch up to her before she gets herself murdered." Mina said, walking out the door, slamming her fist into it. 

The antelope looked at the slight dent left in the door and sighed. Mina certainly had a way with doors. 

----- 

"Well, so you managed to get the map, I'm amazed Karnage." A slick looking leopard purred, eying the map spread out on the table. 

"Shut up, Grimmo." A black-furred weasel growled. 

"What did I say, my dear? Insult your boyfriend?" Grimmo the leopard laughed, sounding amazingly like a hyena. 

"I said shut up! Just shut. UP." 

"Shall I cut out his tongue?" A cream-colored wolfess asked, giggling. 

"You wouldn't dare." 

"I would pay you ten dollars just to be having the pleasure of viewing that." Karnage whispered to the wolfess. 

"Sure, and then you'd steal it right back." 

"But of course." Karnage said, grinning. It was a dangerous game. He hadn't expected to be fanangled into a plot of this magnitude, and he didn't like it. He trusted none of the pirates in the room. 

"Well? Where's the vixen? We decided we'd need her as bait didn't we?" A grim looking bear said. 

"She will be coming." Don Karnage said, hoping the vixen would be smart enough to stay low in Parides until they decided on some other plan. 

"What makes you so sure?" 

Grimmo laughed once again and said, "Cause she's in love with the glorious Don Karnage, fearsome pirate and robber of pathetic cargo ships." 

Grimmo's laugh was cut off into a startled squeak when he found the business end of Don Karnage's cutlass a hairs breadth away from his throat. 

"Ooohooohoo! One more word out of Grimmo and his crew's gonna be looking for a new leader, what?" a bouncy looking house cat in a ridiculous green overcoat laughed. 

"Yeah, Grimmo. You'll be breathing through your neck!" 

"Uh, hee...um...I was just joking about the pathetic part, there." Grimmo whined. 

"Shut up. I can not stand that hideous noise." Karnage withdrew his sword, but kept it in his paw. He did not trust any of the others. There was no doubt in his mind that they didn't trust him either. Under normal conditions they would have been at each others' throats, but the six captains had decided on a truce to take care of a small piece of more important business...capturing and executing Johnson the Hunter. 


	13. Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah

-----Chapter 12----- 

"So, let me get this straight...you're looking for Don Karnage?" the grizzled old skunk muttered over his drink. 

"Yes." 

"Might I ask why?" 

"He stole something from me and I intend to-" Camdyn began, but was cut off by a monkey who was wearing clothes that had probably never seen the wash. And he smelled twice as bad. 

"What? Get it back? Walk up to him and say, "Oy! You! Give me my stuff back! I'll tell your mommy on you and then you'll be sorry!" he said, laughing. 

Camdyn stopped. That was exactly what she'd been planning. Well, not the mommy part, but it was pretty close. Camdyn wondered for a second or two what Don Karnage's mother looked like. She knew from what Sable and Roxie had said that both she and their flirtatious father were still around. Her wondering was short lived however. 

"Hey...hey...leave my auntie out of this." a silver wolf with patches of white on his ears and around one of his eyes growled at the monkey. 

"You're 'auntie'? Oh that's great!" The monkey continued laughing hysterically. 

"Yeah. That's right. My auntie. I'll tell her you were laughing at her and then she'll come down here and...well, it won't be pretty." 

"I ain't afraid of no one. Especially not yer 'auntie'. When I sees a Karnage standin' there telling me I'm about to lose my tail, I'll shut my mouth." the monkey snarled. 

"Stupid monkey. There's a Karnage sitting there in front of yah tellin' you to shut up about his aunt and what do you do? You just keep talking!" the skunk said, looking quite exasperated. 

"Well? Where's his aunt at anyway?" the monkey said, turning toward the skunk. 

"My auntie? She's right over there." the wolf pointed across the room. It took Camdyn a few seconds to realize he was being serious, and to pick out the venerable old she wolf making her way across the room. She had gray fur, but there were hints of red to it. She stopped and looked at the monkey and then shook her head. 

//Drunk.// 

//I think so.// 

The wolf looked at Camdyn, utterly unsurprised. 

//He's also an idiot.// Camdyn offered. 

//You're not joking. How many drinks do you think he's had?// 

//Probably about three too many.// 

//Good.// The wolf didn't wait for an answer, but gave the monkey a sharp rap with the parasol she carried in her hand. He dropped like a brick. 

"Jeez. You're pretty formiddable with that thing." the skunk muttered, looking at the unconcious monkey. 

The she-wolf began walking away from the group, but Camdyn went after her. 

//Excuse me! I'm looking for Don Karnage, you wouldn't have happened to have seen him would you?// 

//I've seen him. He left a few hours ago. I don't know where he went. My advice, my dear, is that if you want to find him, first find his ship.// the wolf stopped and looked out the window. //But if you want much better advice, I'd say to stay in town. There will only be troubles if you find my son.// 

With that the old wolf shuffled out the door and left a confused Camdyn standing in the doorway looking after her. 

"I could take you to him. I know where he's hanging out at." 

Camdyn looked around to find the silver wolf looking at her. 

"Umm...no. I've really got to get back to where I'm staying. I think they'll be getting worried by now." Camdyn made her way to the door. Something was telling her she should get out of there, and fast. Camdyn was looking around to make sure no one snuck up on her and jumped nearly three feet in the air as Mina's paw clenched on her shoulder. There was a soft scuffling noise in the dark that went un noticed as Mina berated the vixen. 

"What are you doing? I told you not to go out without me." 

"What am I a little kid or something?" Camdyn retorted. 

"You are when it comes to this place. The three year olds know more about keeping a low profile than you do." 

"I was looking for Don Karnage because you led me away from him earlier." 

"I did not." 

"Well, I think you did." 

Mina sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Did it ever even occur in that mind of yours that perhaps I kept you away from him for a reason? Camdyn, he's not someone to take lightly. I should know." 

"Hmph. It doesn't matter anyway. I just talked to his mother, I think. She said he was here, but he's gone now." 

"Good. I hope he stays away until those idiots get this whole Johnson the Hunter thing out of their systems." 

"What?" Camdyn looked up in time to catch the look on Mina's face that screamed 'I shouldn't have said that' "What do you know that I don't know?" 

"Nothing. You don't need to know. Come on. Let's go back to Fauns." Mina said. 

"Why don't I need to know? I'm beginning to think you don't trust me at all." 

"I don't trust anyone. That's the first rule of captaincy. Everyone will stab you in the back if they can work up the nerve and get a chance to." 

"But if it has something to do with the Hunter, shouldn't I know about it? I mean, I stole his plane and just got robbed by the Air Pirates." 

"Like I said. You don't need to know. The less you know, the better. Then if they...no. Come on." 

Camdyn stood and looked at the bear. "If they what? What's going on around here?" 

"Nothing that concerns you, little girl." a voice said sharply from the dark. Camdyn turned toward the large black jaguar standing behind her, but she didn't notice him so much as she noticed the once tawny, now gray, wolf standing behind him. 

"Now, you can come along quiet like, or we can take you by force." the jaguar said. 

"She's not going anywhere. Now you can go tell your leader where he can stick it." Mina snarled from behind Camdyn. 

The jaguar shook his head. "Karnage told us you might be this way. Oh well, can't solve everything without violence." 

"The way I see it...you can either run from him...or turn on him." the old wolf said. 

"Will you shut the hell up, old one?" 

"I can't shut it up. My mouth it a gateway for wisdom." 

"I said shut -oof." 

//How dare you talk to your elders like that young cat.// The wolfess from the bar grumbled. Camdyn stifled a laugh as she throroughly beat him with her parasol. 

"No time for the hysterics...if you run now you might just get away." the wolf said. The jaguar grabbed the parasol. Camdyn began backing away, but kept her eyes on the scene. 

"Ha. You crazy old bag..." he said, holding the parasol tightly despite the she-wolf's tugging. 

She glared up at him. "Oh, now you've gone and done it...only word she speaks in the english language." 

"Crazy?! Never. Call. Me. That. Word!" Snatching the sword from her husbands belt, she punctuated each word with a slap from it using the flat of the blade. It was the very first time Camdyn had heard her speak anything other than what Camdyn had always thought of as "Islander". The language was spoken by nearly everyone in the Fandango Archepelligo. All two thousand and sixty four islands, keys and rocks. Now from what Camdyn could tell, she was speaking Spanish. The wolf launched into a veritable tirade in it. Camdyn was kind of glad that she couldn't say much more than 'hello', 'goodbye', 'thank you' and 'where's the bathroom?' in Spanish. She would probably have had a headache. 

The jaguar was now laying on the ground whimpering in pain from the onslaught. He flinched as the wolfess picked up her parasol and gave him one final jab with it. 

"M-M-Mad Dog, why the hell didn't you help me out!?" he yelled into the darkness. 

Surprisingly, Mad Dog answered from right behind Camdyn. 

"Because I might be dumb, but I ain't stupid. And I still ain't gonna help you out." Camdyn turned around quickly and found herself face to face with not only Mad Dog, but also Zoll. 

The jaguar sat up, sensing that the attack had ended. "You were supposed to help me get the vixen. If you don't, I'm gonna tell Don Karnage that you didn't follow orders." 

Mad Dog rolled his eyes. Camdyn had a feeling that he wasn't as stupid as he let on. 

"What do you think I'm doin' you moron? I've got the vixen right here." He said. Zoll winked at Camdyn and she looked at him puzzled. Mina growled at the jaguar. 

"What are you doing here anyway, Trap?" Mina prodded the jaguar none too gently. 

"Followin' orders." 

"What orders?" 

"Ha...you think I would tell you? EYOW!" Trap yelped as Mina gripped his ear and twisted. 

"You want me to rip it off? I can rip it off...do you want that?" 

"OW! No! Don't rip it off! OOOOOWWWW!" Mina had given it another twist. 

"Then talk." 

"OK, OK, Roderick told me to come here and get the vixen...OW, take it easy will ya'? That's all I know...get the vixen and her plane, says Roderick, and bring them both back here in one piece." 

"For what reason?" 

"I don't know. Maybe Roderick likes her?" 

Camdyn was surprised when Mina let go of Trap's ear. The jaguar rubbed at it, almost as if to make certain it was still attached to his head. Mina rounded on Mad Dog. 

"I know you probably know what's going on. Speak up." 

Mad Dog didn't say anything, just looked at Camdyn, back at Mina, then back to Camdyn. 

"Don't you dare...Don't even think about it." Mina growled. Camdyn wondered for a moment what she was talking about and turned to look at her, then she felt herself being picked up and carried off. 

"I told you not to dare! Get back here you mangy excuse for a pirate! You too, Zoll! COWARDS!" Mina yelled, chasing after them. "Damn you, you disgusting excuses for pestilences!" 

"Hey! Put me down!" Camdyn yelled at, Mad Dog, she guessed since she saw Zoll running for his life from Mina. Camdyn wasn't surprised when she was let go and told to get into Mad Dog's plane. 

"But how am I supposed to get-" 

"Shut up. Get in. Hold on." Mad Dog snarled. Camdyn scrambled into the plane and managed not to fall out as Mad Dog climbed in. She ended up sitting with her feet in the cockpit and the rest of her on the top of the plane. Camdyn later thought of it as a bullride gone very wrong. 

"Where are we going?" Camdyn yelled over the roar of the engine. 

"The Vulture. Now shut up." 

"Well, that was informative." 

"If you try that smart stuff with them, they're gonna kill you." 

"With who?" 

"You'll find out when you get there. It ain't my job to tell you what they want ya for." Mad Dog said, he looked down as the radio crackled and Zoll's voice came over it. 

"Mina's right behind me and boy is she mad. She's gonna kill us when she catches up!" 

"So, don't let her catch up." Mad Dog replied, shoving the throttle up on his plane. With Mina trailing behind them they sped off toward the Iron Vulture. 


	14. Kidnapping, A Chase and Shower Mold

-----Chapter 13----- 

"So you were sent to kidnap me?" Camdyn asked after a few minutes of silence. The only answer she got was a shake of the mutt's head. 

"So you weren't sent to kidnap me?" she asked. This time she got an irritated glance from him. 

"Would you shut up? I'm not supposed to talk to you." 

"Why not?" 

Mad Dog looked over his shoulder at her. 

"You don't get it do you? I'm NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK TO YOU!" he shouted. 

"Okay! Okay! You don't have to yell." Camdyn sighed. She didn't like not knowing where she stood with the pirates. It was a strange feeling, she'd been getting somewhat used to the way they operated. Now she just sat fearing the worst as Mad Dog landed on top of the Vulture. It was a hair raising experience, but she just trusted to blind luck and Mad Dog to not get them killed by running into the huge airship's props. 

Mad Dog climbed out and stood on the wing of his plane and yelled something that Camdyn couldn't understand. She wriggled a finger in her ear and listened to him again. But no, she still couldn't understand what he was saying. But from his gestures, Camdyn surmised that it wasn't anything too kind. She wondered who he was yelling at, then noticed what had to be Trap getting ready to land her plane. 

As Trap did so, he started yelling back at Mad Dog. 

"Shut up with the freakin' Aridian...no one can understand you when you do that." Trap snapped, he looked irritated. 

Mad Dog retorted with something else in what was, apparently, the language of Aridia. 

"Would you care to translate that?" Trap snarled, dangerously. 

"Well excuse me. I said that you should get down to the hangar since you're sitting on the platform." Mad Dog said in his typically whiny voice. 

Camdyn stared at him a moment before climbing down from the plane. 

"I see you at least managed to get the stupid vixen here without getting killed. It's a damn good thing that I came in with Zoll or we would have had to send someone back for my plane." Trap continued his babbling. Camdyn frowned. 

There was a loud noise as Mina and Zoll arrived and Camdyn realized it was the beak being opened. 

----- 

Samuel, tabby radio operator extrodinaire and father to Kelly and as-yet-unnamed kitten, was lounging when a sudden burst of radio communication caught his attention. 

"Open the door! Come on! Hurry...there's a bear out here who has a eye out for a new rug!" Zoll shouted. Sam scrambled for the intercom and called down to the hangar. 

"Would someone mind opening the beak? I think the plan didn't go so well." Sam said, sounding entirely unphased. 

Down in the hangar the two dogs supposed to be watching for the returning pirates jumped up and acted like they hadn't been sitting there half-asleep. Which was true...since they had actually been asleep. But one of them had the good sense to push the button to open the hangar doors. They both looked at each other, and when seeing nothing coming, went to peek out. That was their first mistake. Zoll came zooming up out of nowhere, Mina right behind him. 

Zoll flipped his plane up and into the hangar, doing some strange imitation of a landing and getting out of his plane before it came to a complete stop. The door guards stood there for a moment staring in disbelief as Zoll ran screaming into the ship and Ratchet had to jump onto the CT-37 and stop it before someone came to serious harm. That was their second mistake. Only flattening themselves to the deck plates saved them from being run over by Mina, who actually stopped her plane before jumping out to pursue the fleeing Corgi. 

The two guards lay face down on the floor, and one of them mumbled "Hey, wasn't there supposed to be one more?" 

"Yeah, and I ain't moving until I'm sure they're done goin' crazy." The other replied. 

Sensibly, Ratchet threw an old oil filter at them and informed them that Mad Dog had landed on the roof. Just as the two guards were picking themselves up, Mina came storming back out. 

"Where is she?" Mina demanded. 

"Who?" Ratchet asked. 

"You know very well who..." 

"Oh, look. It's one of the three bears come home to roost." a snide voice said behind the bearess. Mina turned to find a jaguar standing there. He was black from head to toe and when he smiled it was disconcertingly like watching the Cheshire Cat. "Looking for something?" 

"Where'd you come from?" 

"Where does anyone come from, Mina?" the jaguar asked. Mina didn't get a chance to answer because Karnage had appeared behind him, followed by a disheveled looking Camdyn, along with Mad Dog and Trap. 

"You...I would have to say you came from the woody-work Captain Grimmo." Karnage stated. The way he said the word 'captain' made it sound as if it were a replacement for a much nastier word. 

"Woodwork?" Grimmo asked, sounding thoroughly lost. 

"Si. Just like the other cockeroaches." 

The jaguar growled, but apparently thought better of attacking Karnage in front of so many members of his crew. Especially when said crew was eyeing him like he was some sort of fishbait waiting for a hook. The tension was not lost on Mina. She reminded herself to see what exactly had been going on in her absence. 

"Now, now, Captain Karnage. That's such a naughty thing to say. Grimmo isn't like a cockroach. He's much more sophisticated." 

"Yeah, sophisticated like shower mold." Mad Dog mumbled under his breath. Camdyn couldn't help but grin a little. She covered her mouth and pretended to have a coughing fit. Unfortunately, the she wolf had heard him. 

"Excuse me...I'm not sure I've heard you correctly. Would you care to repeat that last turn of phrase so that the rest of our comrades can hear your eloquence?" the she-wolf smiled nastily. 

"I didn't stutter." Mad Dog said, this time speaking out plainly. 

"Oh, but we would be so enlightened by your display of imminent intelligence." 

Mad Dog glanced sideways at Camdyn. She picked up that the wolfess was intentionally trying to throw Mad Dog with impossibly long words. Camdyn nudged him. 

"She just wants to hear that sexy voice of yours again." Camdyn stage whispered to Mad Dog. She thought she saw Karnage stifle a grin. 

"Excuse me? I hardly believe that I would ever find the vocals of that mixed-up half-breed simpleton stimulating." 

Camdyn looked at the she-wolf as she was speaking. She had platinum blonde hair and the sort of false sugary voice that made you wonder what kind of rat poison she was underneath the candy coating. Karnage looked from Camdyn, to the she-wolf, then back again. This was going to be interesting. He wondered for a moment if the vixen even realized that she was technically a prisoner. 

"That was a lot of long words and I'm just a pirate-in-training. Good thing I have a dictionary." Camdyn said. The wolfess looked at her as if challenging her to show her the book. Camdyn reached into her pocket and pulled out a very grubby dictionary. 

"Really..." the wolfess rolled her eyes. 

"What? You were expecting her to be lying like the sleepy dog who is too old to teach new tricks, Della?" Karnage asked. The wolfess gritted her teeth. 

"Let me see...mixed-up..." Camdyn actually went through the trouble of looking up a few of the words Della had used on Mad Dog. 

"OK, Official Piratical Translation...Mad Dog, according to Della you are, "A stupid mutt. A mutt so disgusting she can't possibly think about having your children. You make her vomit." Camdyn stopped. "Have I gone far enough?" 

"Yeah, I think I got the general idea." Mad Dog said, glaring at Camdyn. 

"So?" 

"So what? It's true. He is a stupid, filthy, flea infested, mangy mongrel who's parentage, I fear, is in serious question." Della snapped. 

Mad Dog scratched behind his ear for a moment then clapped Della on the shoulder. 

"I don't think truer words have ever been spoken." Mad Dog turned and started to walk away. 

"Wait...Mad Dog, you are in charge of the vixen. She is not to leave your sight, comprendé?" 

Mad Dog looked as though he'd like to shove Camdyn overboard. 

"Yes, sir...come on." He grabbed Camdyn's coat by the collar and started off. 

Della stared after them with an expression that said she'd be dangerous later on. Camdyn gulped. She hadn't really meant to go so far with her joke, but she hadn't quite been able to resist. As she followed Mad Dog around the ship, she wondered where he was going. Well, Karnage said she wasn't allowed to leave his sight, so she guessed it really didn't matter where he was going. 


	15. Princess Pain in the Ass

Authors Note: I'm not entirely certain I like the way I handled Mad Dog in this chapter. It may or may not change to reflect future chapters. And for the record: No. Mad Dog isn't in love with Camdyn. Camdyn isn't in love with Mad Dog. 'Nuff said. Besides...what would Suki think? :)

-----Chapter 14----- 

"Why'd I have to get stuck with you?" Mad Dog muttered. Camdyn shrugged. She remembered the saluki back on Breaker Island and passed along her message. 

"Suki said to tell you hi if I saw you." she blurted. Mad Dog positively cringed. 

"Suki? You mean she's still trailing me?" 

"Well, she was at Breaker Island..." 

"Wait! You've been by there?" 

"Stopped for about two weeks, actually. All the ladies gave me messages to pass along when I saw you guys again. Why?" 

"Come on..." without explanation or ado, Mad Dog began dragging Camdyn in another direction. They reached their destination. There were crates, boxes and all manner of things jumbled together in a large room. It looked something like the hangar in front, but was smaller. Most of the crew was there, Camdyn supposed they weren't needed or were just hiding from people. Zoll was suffering through an exam from Sophie. Camdyn saw Zoll wince as Sophie prodded him in his shoulder. Mad Dog led her down the stairway and through the jungle of junk. It was a bit noisy with everyone caught up in their own conversations. 

"Yeah, I think you've managed to sprain it." Sophie poked again. 

"Would you stop pokin'!? It hurts!" Zoll said. 

Gwynn reached over and jabbed Zoll in his shoulder. 

"Does that hurt?" 

"YES!" 

"I found out what hurts!" Gwynn said, gleeful. 

"Hey...Camdyn's seen the Ladies." Mad Dog said. Everything went quiet. 

"Really? What'd they say?" one of the pirates asked. 

"Urm..." Camdyn was nervous with everyone watching her. For a dancer she hated public speaking. She looked around and spotted all the pirates who had family on the island and resigned herself. At least she wouldn't have to do this twice. 

"First of all: You have the most terrible children I've ever met. When I left, they had gone through at least seven different nicknames for me, Including: "Vulture Vomit, Camdyn the Cockroach, Crazy Camdyn, Camcam, and Flying Fox." this was met with laughter. 

"Is Samuel Roberts here?" 

"Yeah, he's back here...playing with his radio..." a feline answered, waving his paw in the air. 

"Your wife wants you roasting on a spit." 

"How charming. Did you happen to find out why?" he asked. 

"Well, with the condition she's in, I could really hardly blame her." 

"Condition?" the tabby seemed confused. 

"You mean you don't know?" he looked at Camdyn blankly. 

"Oh, geez...how do you tell someone something like this?" Camdyn muttered, trying to find the proper words for it. 

"Is there something wrong?" Sam asked. He was starting to look worried. 

"No...no...she's not hurt or anything...just. She's very, very pregnant." 

"Oh man..." Sam covered his eyes with a paw while getting teased by the others. "Why didn't she SAY something? I mean, with Kelly she at least told me..." he was off and babbling. 

Next to Camdyn, Mad Dog rolled his eyes. 

"You'd think he didn't know what causes that sorta thing." the mutt said. 

"Dumptruck?" 

"Ja?" 

"Rayne says that if Gertie asks about becoming a 'wild woman' you have to tell her that the natives will eat her." Camdyn was getting a little more relaxed now that she realized that the pirates really did want news. 

"Vhy?" Dumptruck asked, looking even more confused than he usually was. 

"Well, she's taken to running around outside with no clothes on, painting mud on her face and attempting to hold the other children hostage. That's all true because I saw it myself. In other news: Kay sends her regards to her "Cuddle Corgi"," at this Zoll blushed under his yellowish tan fur, "Maybelle sends her love to Will," Will grinned, "Lulu says hello to her brother, and Sable gave me a demand for the "Fleabag" who took her favorite wrench to return it before he faces the consequences." Camdyn continued like that for nearly an hour. When she finally stopped filling everyone in on what had been going on, she was feeling much better about being on the airship. 

"Hey, what about Mad Dog's princess?" one of the pirates asked. 

"Shut up." Mad Dog growled. 

"No, come on! We've followed her this far...any news about her?" Sam, who had quite recovered from his news, declared, waving a chart in the air. 

"Princess? I didn't see any princesses...at least I don't think I did." 

"Um...her name's Suki." 

"Suki? Suki Elverson? She's a princess?" Camdyn looked baffled. 

"Ja! That vould be her." 

"She's at Breaker Island." Sam made some marks on his chart. 

"I knew she'd catch up to you...I knew it." Sam muttered. 

"Shut. UP!" Mad Dog snapped. "She's not gonna find me because the Ladies never come onboard the Vulture and I never go to Breaker Island. Why doesn't that moronic saluki go home?!" 

There was silence for a few minutes. 

"What's she a princess of?" 

"The Princess of Pain in my Ass!" Mad Dog turned and stomped a few feet away. He stood there looking irritated. 

"She's some sort of Aridian princess. Apparently she decided that Mad Dog was her one true love and has been following him since we left Mirita." Zoll informed the still confused Camdyn. Camdyn decided that "Elverson" didn't sound like a very Aridian name. She had to tell the truth that she had wondered about Suki's accent a little. 

"If she's a princess, why hasn't her father tried to find her yet and take her home?" 

"Because she's the ninty-second princess." Mad Dog muttered sulkily. He dragged Camdyn out of the room and down a corridor, shoved open a door and went inside. Camdyn wondered if she should follow him. 

"Are you going to stand out there all day?" Mad Dog muttered. 

Camdyn stepped inside and found that she was in his quarters. It wasn't quite as messy as she had expected it to be. Apparently, Mad Dog had no room mate because the other bed was folded against the wall. Mad Dog grumbled about being a vixen-sitter. Half the room obviously belonged to the mutt. He had pictures taped and tacked to the wall above the hammock he used instead of the normal bed. Some of them were pictures of movie starlets that he'd evidently filtched from someone's magazine and a few were pictures of people that Mad Dog apparently knew. There were also postcards with neat pictures on the fronts of them and she resisted the urge to stare at them. There was apparently more to Mad Dog than met the eye. Camdyn wanted to ask him who the people in the photos were, but instead said: 

"Nintey-Second princess? Her dad has ninety-one OTHER princesses?" 

"Yes." Mad Dog said. He picked up a half-empty bottle of soda pop, shook it, discovered it was indeed flat and drank what was left of it anyway. 

"I feel sorry for his wife...I didn't think people could have that many kids..." 

Mad Dog stared at Camdyn for a moment. 

"You really are stupid." 

"I am not stupid!" 

"Yes, you are. Think about the country we're talking about. Did I fail to mention that she's the sixth daughter of the forty-second wife?" Mad Dog said, waving the now empty bottle at her. 

"I- did you just say the forty second wife? Great googly moogly..." 

"Yeah, see, in Aridia, you can have more that one wife. I thought everyone knew that." Mad Dog said, he flopped in the hammock that he used as a bed and stared at the ceiling. "Most of the guys thought it'd be great to retire there." he laughed. 

"Why don't I go see where I'm supposed to stay?" Camdyn asked, hoping to change the subject. 

"You're supposed to stay with me." 

"With you? Here? I don't think that's what the captain meant." 

Mad Dog looked at Camdyn. He sighed and got up. 

"You want to go ask him?" 

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I do." 

Mad Dog sighed resignedly and led Camdyn back to the hangar. Della was still there and glared as they arrived, Mad Dog promptly ignored her and the itching fit she seemed to be having. Don Karnage was having Ratchet report to him about the condition of Camdyn's plane. Mad Dog stalked up to them, then gestured for Camdyn to go ahead. 

"Excuse me." Camdyn said politely. Ratchet stopped talking in mid-sentence and glared at Camdyn. Then he looked at Mad Dog, who pointed at Camdyn as if that would explain everything. 

"What?" Karnage asked, frowning at the interruption. 

"Where, exactly, am I supposed to be staying? Because I was just wondering since you told Mad Dog he had to keep me in his sight at all times." 

Don Karnage looked a little confused. 

"You stay with him." 

Mad Dog smirked at Camdyn and gave a mock bow. 

"With HIM? Wait just a minute...I'm not staying with him...how am I supposed to get dressed? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a female..." 

"Yes, yes...I have noticed that. Did you think I was confuse-ed? You stay with him. It is being the only place left." 

"There isn't anywhere else? No little place you could stick me?" 

"There is always the brig." Karnage answered. His ears flicked impatiently. "No, wait...I believe Della's crew is there." 

"How could there be nowhere else on a ship this big?" Camdyn asked. Karnage's temper was beginning to fray. 

"There are SIX crews aboard this ship. You cannot possibly be believing the difficulty in trying to find somewhere for them all to be. If you do not like Mad Dog, go...sleep on the roof." Karnage snapped, then turned back to Ratchet and motioned for him to go on. Ratchet looked at the captain then muttered, "No one ever stays with Mad Dog more than once." 

Camdyn sputtered a protest as Mad Dog again led her away. Mad Dog was laughing at her. 

"What are YOU laughing at?" 

"You should have seen yourself." 

"Oh shut up." Camdyn was perturbed about being forced to stay with a male pirate. She followed him through the ship, staring at the floor and wondering how she was possibly going to live through this. She found herself back in Mad Dog's quarters. She had to wonder, at least for a moment, why no one else would stay with him. She put the thought to the back of her mind for the time being and began trying to get herself situated. She was just getting ready to figure out how to unlatch the bunk when a ball of cloth hit her in the back of the head. 

"What was that for?" she snapped. 

"It's a hammock. You can try the bunk if you want to, but I don't think you'll like it. It's just like sleeping on the floor." Mad Dog answered as he rummaged through a drawer. Camdyn sighed and began tying the hammock up. If the room's sole occupant suggested it, she'd try it. She had some experience with hammocks from her childhood. 

"You really ought to learn how to control that big yap of yours. You're technically a prisoner. That's why I can't let you out of my sight." 

"A prisoner? Who ever heard of a prisoner who's allowed to walk around without being tied up? And it's a good thing that I haven't got any other clothes." Camdyn finished tying the hammock up and was hit with another ball of cloth. 

"Have a blanket. Who knows why the captain is letting you roam around...just try to get some sleep while you can." 

Camdyn gritted her teeth. "Thank. You." 

Mad Dog smirked and climbed into his own hammock. As Camdyn got herself situated in her own, she began to wonder exactly what Ratchet had meant when he said that no one ever stayed with Mad Dog twice. With that question in her head, she dozed off. A few hours later, she woke up to hear Mad Dog whimpering in his sleep. She looked over at him. He was sound asleep, but he was sweating and twitching and every so often he'd mutter something unintelligible and whine pitifully. She wondered if she ought to wake him up, but then thought better of it since she'd heard it wasn't good to wake someone up suddenly when they were dreaming like that. 

Camdyn lay back and attempted to get back to sleep. She heard Mad Dog move and a soft thump as his paws hit the floor. She glanced over at him. 

"Where is he?" Mad Dog asked. He was wide awake, but he seemed confused. 

"Who?" 

"The hunter..." 

"I don't know. He's not here." 

"I'm gonna kill him." Mad Dog muttered, more to himself than anyone. 

Camdyn swallowed hard. So far, he hadn't seemed to think that she was the hunter. She was suddenly very glad she wasn't a male. It had just occurred to her why no one shared Mad Dog's quarters, if he had these sorts of dreams often, he probably woke up and attacked them thinking the other guys were the Hunter. 

"I know." 

"I'm gonna kill him for Zan." with that, Mad Dog seemed to be falling back asleep and he simply curled up on the floor. Camdyn looked at him. 

Camdyn wondered if Mad Dog had thought she was Zan or if he was just talking to himself. Camdyn didn't know whether to be relieved or to be frightened of this. As she thought about it, she herself dozed back off. She was rudely awakened around an hour later as an alarm went off in the corridor outside. She jumped as she woke up and dumped herself onto the floor. Mad Dog was already on his feet and opening the door. 

"What's going on?!" She asked. 

"Don't know. It's not good though. Come on." Mad Dog hauled her to her feet and began working his way through the crush and out to the hangar. 


	16. A Mutiny

Authors Note: I've got a million and one fanfictions that I'm working on, so apologies if you feel like I'm not getting this one done. I will get it finished eventually. Pirate's Promise. :)

-----Chapter 15----- 

All of the crews were assembled there and Camdyn blearily rubbed her eyes as she followed Mad Dog through the crowd. Della was speaking with a mic from one of the planes over a loudspeaker in the hangar. 

"Due to circumstances beyond our control, The Hunter has eluded us for the time being. Our scout has returned with news that he's slipped away from Parides under our very noses." The wolfess paused for effect, then continued. "There has been some disagreement as to what should be done next. We know for certain that he is following a heading that takes him straight out to sea. I have suggested that we use the Vulture and give chase, however," she shot an angry glance at Don Karnage, "Our host has refused on the grounds that the ship will be overtaxed with our added weight." 

Camdyn shook her head. She looked at Mad Dog. "She's hiding something, isn't she?" 

"Yeah...I wonder what heading he's taking?" Sam muttered from beside Camdyn. He had his chart from the radio room in his hand. "If I could just get that stupid she-wolf to give me the coordinates I could figure out where he was going." 

"Excuse me!" Camdyn had climbed onto the railing and, holding onto a cable with on paw, waved down at the captains. 

"What do you want?" Della snapped. 

"I was really talking to Captain Don Karnage." at this, Karnage looked slightly smug. 

"Yes, yes...what is it you wanted to ask of my wonderful self?" 

"If you don't mind, what were the coordinates that The Hunter was using?" 

"That's none of your business." Della snapped, cutting off Don Karnage. He scowled at her. He was going to give a similar answer, but since Della wished to be a pain...he gave the vixen the numbers. 

"Thank you." Camdyn climbed back down, almost stepping on Sam, who had dropped down to use the floor as a table while he did his figuring. Camdyn had to hop over him and stood watching as he scribbled. 

"Well, I'm glad he knows what to do with them." Camdyn said to no one in particular. 

Down on the hangar floor, Della glared at Karnage. 

"Just what did you do that for? She's just being nosy and it's none of her business." she sounded sulky. Up on the catwalk, her crew were mumbling to themselves about the events of the past few minutes. Della had flatly refused to give them any idea of what they were going to do and refused to give them even a hint as to where The Hunter might be going. They weren't too pleased with their leader, and one or two of them had gotten an idea. 

Karnage glared back and answered, "You have not liked her since you saw her. I am believing you are in the clutches of the greeny-eyed monstrosity." 

"I am NOT jealous of that, that...besides, there isn't any reason for me to be jealous of her." Della stuck her muzzle in the air. 

"Give it a rest, would you? You ain't been an item since 1923." Roderick snorted at the two wolves. 

"Actually...we have never been an item." Karnage corrected the bear. "If you wish to go hare-braining off after the Hunter, you may leave at your own disecretion." 

"That's DISCRETION, Karnage." Roderick rumbled. 

"That is what I said." Karnage snapped, paw on his sword. The big bear leaned over and smiled nastily. 

"What are you gonna do with that, Karnage? Pick my teeth?" 

"No...I would like to pick your brain with it, but-" 

"But?" 

"It is too small. I cannot find it." Karnage jumped backward, neatly missing the bears' swing at him. 

"Knock it off, Roderick. You want to bring his whole crew down on us?" Jonas, the strange tabby captain, stated. Roderick stopped, but still stood growling about Karnage. 

Up on the catwalk, Gibber stood watching as Sam figured what was the most likely spot for the Hunter to be, but his ears were listening to the other crews. One in particular had his attention with their plans of mutiny. 

Back on the hangar floor, Karnage was watching them, wondering if it was a mutiny or out-right murder they were planning. He'd heard the news from Gibber that Della wasn't held in very high esteem by her crew. Gibber had informed him about several of his own crew's speculations that Della wouldn't be their captain for too much longer. Karnage had to admit that Della wasn't exactly held in very high esteem by anyone else either. She was bossy, pushy, annoying and probably worst of all was that hideous syrupy way she talked. As he watched, Della's crew seemed to have reached an agreement, though what it was on Karnage could only guess at. But Della seemed oblivious. 

One of Della's crew stood up, he was a large rat with sleek gray fur. 

"Do you realize this ship wouldn't be so overloaded if you threw that stupid she-wolf overboard?" he asked. Camdyn looked over at him, then to Della, then to Mad Dog in an attempt to see if what was going on was serious. Judging by the look on Mad Dog's face, it was. 

'What?!" Came the snarled response from Della. "How dare you! What is this?" 

"This is mutiny. We're sick of you Della." 

"Yeah! All you ever do is sit around and whine about yourself and make us do everything." 

"That's right..." 

Now Della's former crew had truly gotten into airing their complaints about their leader. Karnage shook his head and continued watching them. Della simply gawked. 

"Certainamente you recognized a mutiny when you see one in progress, yes/no?" 

Della glared at Karnage and turned back to her crew. 

"What are you talking about? I've been more than generous..." Della continued talking in the silence that followed her crews complaints. Camdyn was nervous. She'd never seen a mutiny before, but Mina had talked about it and they hadn't sounded pleasant. Then again, from the way Mina talked, it was almost as though she had been a victim of one. She looked around now for the bear. After a few minutes of searching the crowd, she saw her below, watching the crew. Camdyn wanted to go talk to her, but remembered that she wasn't to leave Mad Dog. Karnage might as well have put her on a leash. 

"Oh yes? And who, pray tell, would be your new captain? It's not as if there are candidates crawling out of the woodwork around here." Della snapped, drawing Camdyn's attention back to the argument. Della laughed at her crew's befuddlement. The rat looked around at the rest of the group. They were a rag tag bunch. They hadn't been a proper crew since Della had mutinied on their former captain. He was angry with himself for not thinking of it sooner. He was hoping to spot someone who was likely to at least know what they were doing. A white furred vixen caught his eye. He looked at her. 

"You wouldn't happen to know anyone who knows captaincy do you?" he asked her. 

Camdyn looked puzzled, then pointed at Mina. 

"I'm just a pirate in training...I don't know anyone here somewhat well except Mad Dog, Sophie, Gwynn and Mina." she answered. 

"Don't look at me. I ain't no captain." Mad Dog said. The rat looked at him and seemed as though he was getting ready to comment on that when one of his crewmates interrupted him. 

"What was that last name?" one of the other crew asked. Camdyn couldn't tell whether it was a cat or a dog because of all the fur. 

"Mina." 

"As in Cassomina? Cassomina Bayr?" 

"Yes." 

The fuzzball pirate turned and looked at the others. They all seemed a little confused. 

"Is she here?" 

"Yeah, she's right down at the bottom of these steps..." before Camdyn had finished speaking, the mop with legs had moved off with a speed that surprised her. 

"Would you believe me if I told you he was a dog?" the rat murmured. 

"What's his name?" Camdyn asked. 

"Oh, we just call him Invertego because you can't tell which end of him is facing up." 

Camdyn thought back to when Mina had told her who she'd trained and tried to remember if that was one of the names. But Invertego was back. 

"What did she say?" the rat asked urgently. 

"She said yes." 

The rat leaned over the railing and pointed at Mina. 

"Cassomina Bayr is our captain." he proclaimed. Della showed her fangs in a snarl of displeasure. 

"Well then let Cassomina Bayr come and take my right to leadership with her own paws." Della shouted. Everyone on the hangar floor stepped back, leaving an empty spot in the center of the floor. Camdyn was surprised when even Don Karnage stepped back. She looked at Mad Dog, who was staring at the floor below. 

"What's going on?" 

"Mina's gonna fight Della." 

"Oh no..." 

"Yeah, might even kill Della if we're real lucky. I never liked that bitch to begin with." the rat next to her spat. Not literally, as it would have made someone very mad when it landed on them. 

Camdyn didn't say anything, but she sincerely hoped Mina didn't kill the she-wolf. Not that she liked Della, but she didn't think she could handle that right now. She could hardly fathom what was going on now and stayed as close to Mad Dog as she dared in hopes that the much more experienced pirate would clue her in. 


	17. A Fight and the Morning Watch

-----Chapter 16----- 

Camdyn had to admit surprise at how quickly the fight began and was over. Mina evidently knew what she was doing and it showed. She had Della pinned against the floor, in spite of the struggles from the wolfess. Mina had the advantage of weight and was using it. After a few minutes of keeping Della pinned, Mina let her up and watched as she slunk away. Camdyn let out a sigh of relief that turned into a gasp as Della turned on Mina, attacking her with some sort of knife. Mina dodged the first blow, was caught by the second and managed to catch the she-wolf's paw on the third. She gave it a sharp twist and there was a snapping sound and a yelp of pain from the wolf. This time when Della slunk away it was with her tail between her legs and her paw cradled against her. As she tried to sneak by the lowest pirates in rank took a couple of shots at her. She was now lower than the low and the bottom rank wasted no time in letting her know it. 

"If she's lucky, Sophie might fix that so she can leave." Mad Dog muttered. Camdyn was surprised at how Mina could have done something like that. To distract herself, she began looking for the tigeress and saw that she had taken pity on the wolf and was helping her splint her arm. 

"Come on...No sense standin' around here gawking." Mad Dog grumbled. "Time for the morning watch." 

Camdyn didn't even bother answering him, just followed him to the ladder that led to the roof. She shivered in the air as she climbed out after him. The sun was just beginning to show and the sky was the color of orange sherbet mixed with vanilla ice cream. It was really quite pretty. She followed Mad Dog and sat next to him. 

"So what am I supposed to do?" 

"Watch the skies." Mad Dog answered. 

"I think Della was lying about the Hunter. He wasn't even in Parides when I left it last night." 

"I know." 

"Where do you think he is?" 

"Don't know." 

Camdyn sighed. She sat quietly and tried to think about where the Hunter might be, but the events of the last hour kept bothering her. What would happen to her now? 

"Whadda you mean?" 

With slight embarrassment, Camdyn realized she'd spoken that aloud. 

"Well, Mina has her own crew now...she's not going to have time to teach me what I'm supposed to do. I might as well go back to dancing and pretend this never happened." 

"You can't go back. They'd arrest you. What did you think you'd do? Tell them you were just on an extended tour with the Air Pirates?" 

"You all kidnapped me and were keeping me prisoner, but I escaped by singing you all into a stupor with my wonderful voice." 

This story was so ridiculously possible that Mad Dog laughed, still not taking his eyes off the sky. 

"What?" 

"Knowing us, that would probably work." 

Camdyn laughed herself at the image of the pirates all laying around in a fog after being sung to. 

"Anyway, Mina's not very good at teachin' people how to be on a crew." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. I think she had other plans for you. But if you still wanna learn, I might be able to convince some of the guys to help you out." Mad Dog seemed a little nervous at making this offer. 

"You'd do that for me? Why?" 

"Do I have to have a reason?" 

"Well, in my short experience with pirates, you don't ever do something without a reason." 

"Yeah, well, you remind me of someone." Mad Dog scuffed his toe on the plating. "The other guys like ya' because obviously their girls like ya'." 

"What's good for the goose is good for the gander?" 

Mad Dog looked at her. "Yeah, I guess so." 

"I'm just curious, but who is it I remind you of?" Camdyn asked after a few minutes. 

The mutt looked at her as if trying to guess if he could trust her. "My sister." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. She used to come up with stuff like what you said about singing us all stupid. I don't know how she did it. Musta just been that much smarter that me." 

Camdyn didn't know what to say. So she just listened as Mad Dog talked about his sister for a few minutes. She had a feeling that he didn't do this sort of thing often. 

"I think I probably would have liked your sister." 

"She liked everyone. Well, almost everyone. She never did like Mrs. Flanagan, she was over the orphanage. Nasty old ferret." Mad Dog mumbled. Camdyn found herself compelled to tell Mad Dog about her own family. She had no idea why, but it felt like she'd known him forever instead of being kidnapped by him the day before. 

"Well, my family all live in the Fandango Islands. My mom had me and took care of me until I was about eight. Then my dad came out of no where and said he wanted to teach me how to be a society lady. Of course, I was living like a wild dog when he decided this, so after he got frustrated, he sent me to a finishing school in Cape Suzette." 

"Where they finished ya." 

"Yeah. They got sick of me really fast because I never did anything politely. If I wanted the salt, I'd just snatch it from someone. I can't begin to tell you how often I was punished for it. Well, I decided that I was sick of them too and ran off to become a famous actress. That's when I met all of you." 

"That'd be why you get along with us." Mad Dog mumbled. 

"I suppose it is." 

They sat for a while watching the sky for any sign of a plane that would mean they might have to move, and fast. 

"Why did you help me before?" Camdyn suddenly asked. Mad Dog glanced at her. 

"Help?" 

"Yeah. You told me to take the shortcut through the ducting." 

"Oh, that. Well...you..-" Mad Dog scratched an ear. "You looked lost." 

"I was. I think you're nicer than you look." Camdyn said. 

"Nah. I ain't nice. I'm mean. I like to kick little kids and steal their ice cream." 

Camdyn stared at him for a moment trying to determine whether he was serious or not. She was still confused when Mad Dog laughed suddenly. 

"What? You actually think I steal from little kids?" 

"Well, I never know with you guys. Who knows what you will get up to? You might just thieve some ice cream." 

"Heh. Well, it all depends on how hot it is and how long it's been since we've had any. Only thing is, ya gotta make sure you beat Dumptruck or he'll eat it all." 

"Seriously?" 

"Yes. He ate...what was it? Three containers? Yeah." 

"Jeez. He should have been born a pig. By the way, what was with you last night with Della?" 

Mad Dog looked confused, then grinned. "Well, you notice how she looked so...itchy?" 

"You didn't." 

"I did. I gave her some of my fleas." 

"You're right." 

"About what?" 

"Being mean." 

They continued talking and Mad Dog told her about some of the pirates she hadn't met yet. There was Hacksaw who had a fascination with explosives, Gibber who was Karnage's eyes and ears. Mad Dog warned her not to say anything in front of him that she didn't want to get back to the captain. She'd noticed that most of Karnage's crew were canine and asked Mad Dog about it. 

"Oh, that. Well, there aren't many antelope who'd feel comfortable hanging around us. Most of the others don't get the system." 

"System?" Camdyn looked puzzled. 

"Yeah. This crew is like a pack. See...wild dogs live in packs, right?" 

At Camdyn's nod, Mad Dog continued. 

"So you've got the leader, Karnage, then you've got the second in command, that'd be Will...on down to Scrib." 

"Scrib? That's his name?" 

"Yeah. He's a real wierdo. Lives for checking the fuel levels. I think he just likes doin' it 'cause it makes him 'happy', ya' get me?" Mad Dog said. 

"So he's the lowest member of the crew?" 

"Yep. Last one for everything." 

"You're a lot smarter than you let on, you know." 

"It doesn't pay to be smart in this kinda thing. You get too smart and people start tryin' to bump ya' off." 

At about that moment there was a scrabbling noise and an extremely mangy chihuahua climbed onto the roof. Mad Dog glanced at him. The chihuahua payed no notice to his fellow pirate and slid himself straight over the side. Camdyn started to get up and Mad Dog grabbed her coat and pulled her back down. 

"That's Scrib." 

"Oh. Is he...alright?" 

"As alright as he ever is." a new voice rumbled. Camdyn turned to see the gray rat there. He stared at her. 

"What is she doing out here? Shouldn't you be keeping her locked up?" he asked. 

"I'm just doin' my job...Captain Karnage told me not ta let her outta my sight and I can't have her locked up and be out here." 

The rat blinked. "You know, I think Karnage has finally cracked. Letting a prisoner roam around...He won't even give us the freedom to go where we want." 

Camdyn looked at him as she heard the sound of several large planes taking off. "What's that?" 

"That's the other four captains and Della leavin'. They're gonna go look for the Hunter. Hope they find him, don't you?" The rat looked at Mad Dog as he said this. 

Mad Dog didn't reply. He seemed fixated on something on the horizon. He stood up and stared for another minute, then grabbed Camdyn's wrist and took off racing into the ship. 

"What's going on?" 

"I saw somethin'. Come on..." 

Camdyn assumed they were looking for Don Karnage, but they ended up in the hangar instead. Mad Dog was talking to himself as he trotted along the line of planes. He climbed onto the wing of his own and fished in the cockpit for something. He pulled out his rifle and jumped down. He kicked the storage compartment open on the side of the plane and pulled out a bag. He then ran back toward the roof, Camdyn following him. The rat nearly collided with Mad Dog on the stairs. 

"Move, Randall..." Mad Dog shoved past him. He didn't seem to pleased by this. Camdyn followed Mad Dog out onto the roof and he was already unfastening the barrel of his rifle. 

"You just let that sonnuvabitch get close enough..." 

Camdyn looked out at the sky and could now pick out the plane that Mad Dog had seen coming. 

"What are you doing Mad Dog?" 

Randall was back, this time Karnage was with him. 

Mad Dog looked up at them, but his hands didn't stop moving. 

Karnage at least had the sense to scan the horizon and saw the plane coming. 

"That is a pretty pidgeon, yes/no? But is it?" 

"Yes." 

"Hrmph. Then what are you plucking it before it is hatch-ed for?" 

The mutt looked up at Karnage and some sort of communication went on between them. 

"Si...si. I have always wanted to watch this..." he made a motion with one paw to go ahead. Mad Dog grinned. Randall looked more confused than Camdyn. 

"Cover your ears." Mad Dog said as he loaded the gun. He'd changed the normal rifle into something much more sinister. 

Camdyn complied before he'd even hoisted it to his shoulder. Mad Dog fired and her ears were ringing in spite of it. She looked out at the plane and saw black smoke coming off of it. Karnage grinned and went back down the ladder. Randall shook his head and followed. Mad Dog continued to track the progress of the plane as it came closer to the Vulture. There was only two places left for it to go. Down, or to the waiting airship. 

AN: Mad Dog's sinister weapon is a shotgun that can fire anti-aircraft bullets. Yes, in real life it would probably blow up in his face or have such a kickback it'd knock him on his butt. This is a story based on a cartoon. So, in this one instance, I'm letting the cartoon physics take over. 


	18. Showdown

----Chapter 17----- 

"I have a job for you! There is a sheepy-type plane outside. I want you to go bring it here." Karnage shouted down to his crew who were in the hangar getting their planes back into their normal positions. 

"Dumptruck, Zoll...Will and-" Karnage looked for the last person in his lineup and found him coming down the stairs. "Mad Dog. You will go fleece the sheep." 

"What about me?" Camdyn asked. 

"Well, I suppose you are going to be learning sometime. You go, too." 

Before he changed his mind, Camdyn took off to where her own plane was. She could feel the others staring at her. She ignored them and got her plane into position, next to Mad Dog. He looked over at her and shook his head. 

"You really are a moron." he mouthed. He would have been drowned out by the running engines anyway. Ratchet was running from plane to plane yelling instructions at them. 

"MAD DOG! Don't use the overdrive! I swear, this is the last time I'm rebuilding it!" he called out as he went by. Camdyn was surprised she could hear him. The sound was deafening. It reverberated around the inside of the ship. Camdyn looked over at Mad Dog and he pointed to Will. Camdyn nodded that she understood. Follow Will. 

Camdyn's hands were sweaty and she felt like her heart was going to jump out and start running in circles around the room. She'd done this before, she kept telling herself. The only trouble was that the last time, Mina had been flying. Before she could start looking for the bear, Will had given the signal and they'd taken off. Camdyn fought the urge to close her eyes as she lifted off and went out the hangar door. She managed to make it out without mishap. She looked back up and searched for Will's plane. The others were heading off after the wounded plane. As she watched, it's wings quivered and she realized it was trying to turn. Camdyn tried to hang back since she had no idea what she should do. Mina had never actually had her fly in formation. 

"Get up here and help, girl!" Will's voice crackled over the radio. 

Camdyn didn't have the nerve to try and answer him and instead brought her plane back up into the formation. They were close enough to the plane now to see the occupants. Camdyn detachedly thought that Mad Dog must have a sixth sense because it was the same dingo from Louie's. The hyena flying was milking as much as she could from the plane and was headed right where they wanted them. Straight to the vulture. 

Camdyn almost sighed in relief as the plane continued toward the airship. Will's voice brought her back to where she was. 

"Get around them! They're goin' for the roof!" 

Camdyn didn't wait, she didn't want to be yelled at again and tried to get on one side of the plane and block them from turning toward the roof. The hyena flipped the plane around and went under Camdyn to the roof. Camdyn yelled something that would have curled the women at the finishing school's hair. Zoll went after the hyena, Mad Dog right behind him. Camdyn followed them, unsure of what to do. 

The hyena managed to land on the roof of the airship and both occupants scrambled out as Zoll overshot his landing and nearly clipped the hyena with his prop. Mad Dog didn't miss his landing. He jammed the brake on and jumped out in one movement that may have saved his life. The Hunter fired a handgun at the mutt and missed, the bullet riocheting off the covering around the engine. Mad Dog still had his rifle, and now had it trained on the two bounty hunters. The Hunter and Mad Dog were in a stand off. 

Karnage had managed to get the rest of the crew to the roof as soon as he realized the hyena intended to land there. He wasn't particularly worried. Two people were hardly a match for thirty pirates. They came to a halt as they saw Mad Dog and The Hunter. Somehow, Camdyn managed to land her plane in the hangar and was scrambling up the stairs as Will, Zoll and Dumptruck were getting out of their planes to go help. They were all certain that the plane they'd chased down wasn't in any condition to take off again. 

Just as Camdyn reached the top of the stairs, two shots rang out. She climbed onto the roof in time to see Mad Dog drop to his knees. The Hunter had missed again, intending to shoot Mad Dog in the head, he managed to hit him in the side instead. The Hunter though, didn't have to worry about being a piss poor shot anymore. Mad Dog hadn't missed. 

It felt like years to Camdyn as she ran across to the mutt. He was now laying face down on the top of the ship. Sophie was there seconds later. The tigeress rolled him onto his back and he coughed. 

"You aren't gonna die. I'm not letting you. I still owe you one for that time you snuck that turtle on board and stuck him in the soup. Lucky thing for him it was cooling off when you let him start swimming in it." The tigeress rattled on with various things that Mad Dog had done to incur her wrath that she still had to repay. She'd started investigating his wound. 

"Did I-" Mad Dog started, then stopped, trying again he managed to get it all out "Did I get him?" 

"Yeah. Yeah. I think you did. Anyway, you gotta teach me how to be a pirate since Mina's busy. Remember?" 

"How could I forget? You think I'm a moron like you?" he winced as Sophie pulled his vest open. She extended her claws and looked at Camdyn. 

"You might not want to watch this...Just hold his mouth shut so he doesn't bite me." 

"What?" 

"Look! I've got to get the bullet out of him so that I can fix him up before he bleeds to death out here. If you don't hold onto his mouth, I'm gonna have an extra set of stripes." Sophie snapped. Mad Dog looked at Camdyn. 

"Do it." Sophie snapped. 

Camdyn didn't argue, she just did what she was told. Mad Dog fought as Sophie pulled the bullet out of his side. Camdyn was glad that she didn't have to look. It was about this time that she realized that the rest of the crew was standing there watching. 

"There." Sophie held her claws out with the bullet in them. "You can keep this as a souvenir." She handed it to Camdyn, who'd let go of Mad Dog when she'd realized Sophie was done. 

"Is he gonna be ok?" 

"Yeah. He'd make too many people happy if he kicked it all right now." Zoll said with absolute certainty. 

Sophie picked up the mutt, who protested, and carried him inside after she'd temporarily bandaged him. 

Camdyn followed them all inside, then abruptly sat down in the middle of the hallway and started shaking and crying. She buried her face in her hands. She looked up only when she felt someone touch her shoulder. Half expecting it to be Mina she started to say something, then stopped as she realized it wasn't. 

AN: I've got more written to this, but I didn't like the way I handled the next scene, so I'm rewriting it. I'll have it up sometime in the near future. If you liked what I have so far, leave a review so I know. Otherwise, I'll never know if anyone actually reads the new chapters or not. :) 


	19. Smelly Camdyn

AN: Sorry for the delay of chapters. These have been posted at my website for a while, but now I've caught up my posting of the story. If any are interested, my website is located at 

**Chapter 18**

"He will be fine. Mad Dog has been through worse than this." 

Camdyn nodded. "You must think I'm a total idiot." 

"No...not a total idiot. Just enough of one for me to make fun of, yes/no?" Karnage flopped down next to her. Camdyn wasn't sure what to say. Though she'd stopped crying, she was still shaking uncontrollably. 

"It is the shock. I wondered if it would be catching up to you. Do not worry, it will go away." Karnage said, apparently reading her mind. 

Camdyn sat quietly and Karnage continued. 

"Mina has been a very naughty bear." 

"Why?" 

"She told me that she was going to be teaching to you the fine art of being on a pirate crew." 

"She has been..." Camdyn started to say in defense of the bearess. 

"No, I am afraid she has not. She has been teaching you to be a captain, like my wondrous self." 

"No, she hasn't. I don't even know the first thing about it." 

"You THINK you do not know, but you do." me." Camdyn didn't notice that she'd stopped shaking as she got a little more angry at Karnage. She was infuriated with him because now he was just grinning at her. 

"Well, you had the sense to ask for the directions." 

"Sam the radio guy told me to ask you." 

Karnage chuckled. He poked Camdyn on the tip of her nose. 

"But you did not believe Della, did you?" 

"No, not really. I knew the Hunter hadn't been in Parides when I was there yesterday." 

"You see?" 

"That doesn't prove anything! If I hadn't been in town yesterday, I wouldn't have know that at all." 

"But you did know it and you thought about it. You found out when you were looking for my handsome self after you sneak-ed away from the bear." 

"Yea-...wait. How did YOU know that I snuck off and that I was looking for you?" 

"Obviousamente. Uno, Mina would not have let you leave without her overbearing self along for the joyride. Dos, Mad Dog, Zoll and Trap had to give their reports when they returned to the ship. And Tres...well, a little bird told me that you were looking for me. Are you feeling any better?" 

"You-...why do you care?" 

"I am a sensitive and handsome wolf." 

"You're a sneaky and conceited wolf." 

"You do not trust me?" 

"Not as far as I could throw you." 

"Such a pity. I was hoping that you would listen to an idea that my wondrously brilliant mind thought up." 

Camdyn turned away from the red wolf. 

"Well? Will you listen?" 

"I don't see what choice I have." 

"Hmph. You do not deserve to know what goes on in the mind of a great pirate like Don Karnage." With that the wolf got up and began walking away. Camdyn watched him and got up. 

"Why not?" 

"Because you seem to be one of those females only along until you find a male that makes you happy." The wolf tossed over his shoulder. 

"I am not." 

"Then you are not trying to steal Mad Dog away from Suki?" 

"NO! I wouldn't do something like that. I'm not like some women you must have met. I really don't have an interest in anyone on this ship. Not in that way." 

Karnage had stopped and turned back toward her. 

"Very good. Maybe I will let you in on the idea. But later. First, you need to wash. You smell like one of my disgusting crew." 

As Camdyn stared at him trying to think of something to say to that, Karnage simply walked away. He was more confusing than anyone Camdyn had ever met. Not to mention nearly as rude as some of his own crew. She sniffed at herself and decided that maybe he was right about the smell at least and firmly told herself she'd take some sort of bath after dinner tonight. Right now, she had to go check on Mad Dog. 


	20. Dr Sophie

**Chapter 19**

For once, Camdyn started thinking that she shouldn't have worried. When she finally got to the makeshift 'hospital', which was really the kitchen, she found Mad Dog was keeping himself busy by trying to remember every curse word he knew in seven different languages. 

"You're going to go, whether you like it or not." Sophie said calmly. There was another outburst from the mutt. 

"If you're going to yell at her, do it in a language she understands." Mina said. 

"I said I ain't goin. You can't make me." 

"You sound like a little kid." 

"I don't care! I ain't going to Breaker Island. What if...what if someone follows me there and murders everyone in their beds?" 

"No one is going to follow you Mad Dog. The only person who had the slightest interest in following you was shot and killed this morning." Mina stated flatly. 

"But..." 

"No 'buts'. I'm telling you that I know you wouldn't take care of this here because you'd make up excuses. You have to keep it clean or you're going to get an infection. You get an infection and you could die. You were lucky, very lucky. That shot didn't hit anything important." Sophie continued nagging at him. Mad Dog looked at Camdyn. 

"I came to see how you were doing, but from what I hear you're fine." 

"Yeah, if you call being tortured 'fine'." 

"Well, I think it might be a good idea for you to go. Think of it like a vacation." 

"A vacation?" 

"Yeah. You wouldn't really have to do anything too hard and you'd get to laze around on a tropical beach. I thought that was what pirates were supposed to want to do?" Camdyn continued listing the various things that one could do on a tropic island. "And just be glad that there aren't any sharks in the area." 

Mad Dog shook his head. 

"You talk too much, you know that?" 

Camdyn stuck her tongue out at him. Sophie and Mina glanced at each other, then back at the two canines. 

"Well, you aren't even a pirate yet, so what are you talking about?" Mina said, laughing. 

"You've got a crew so you won't have time-" 

"Nonsense. The only reason they wanted a captain was for looks. They could lead themselves if they wanted to. By the way...I wanted to talk to Don Karnage about something. Have you seen him?" 

"The last time I saw him he told me I smelled." 

"Really?" Mad Dog asked. 

"Yes, really!" 

"But where did he get off to?" Mina pressed. 

"I'm not sure. I think he went to his office, but I never know where I'm going on here. It's so confusing." 

"I'll check there first. See you later Sophie. If he tries to bite you again, let me know." with that Mina trotted off down the hall. 

"Bite you again?" 

"Yeah. I tried to bite her 'cause she keeps poking at me with that spear she calls a claw." 

"I ought to bite you back for that, too. Only I'm afraid I might catch something. Who knows where you've been..." Sophie grinned at Camdyn. "You know, Mad Dog used to have white fur." She laughed as the mutt threw a spoon at her. The sink was the only thing in reach of him that had any sort of ammo to throw at the tigress. 

"Yeah and you know what? Sophie is the illegitimate child of Shere Khan and Tonia." 

"Shut up. I am not related to Shere Khan. He's such a...a..." 

"Creep? Stuck up snob? Rich tycoon? Pigeon for the Plucking?" 

Camdyn laughed at the fact that Sophie would rather be related to Tonia than Shere Khan. Tonia was famous for her cereal commercials. 

"Ok, ok." Sophie said, waving a towel in the air before throwing it at Mad Dog. "I get the point and I'm throwing in the towel." 

Sam laughed from behind Camdyn, just having stepped in in time to see Mad Dog's head draped with a dish towel. 

"What do you want?" Sophie asked. "And don't tell me a snack." 

"Actually, I'm here for Camdyn. The captain told me to take her back to the radio room and show her how to work some of the stuff. So, since I've found you O Glorious Queen of the Vulture, would you follow me?" 

"What's all that 'O Glorious Queen' junk about?" Sophie asked. 

"Just a little joke." Sam said in a tone that said he'd explain later. 

Camdyn shrugged and pointed out the door. "We are not amused. Lead on, foul servant, so we may see this radio room." 

"We?" Sam said in confusion. 

"The Royal We." Sophie said, laughing. 

"Oh, I see. Well, We are not amused either. Come on." Sam laughed and started to the radio room. 

Upon their arrival, he walked through a hatchway that had been jammed open with a brick to let some air in. Camdyn looked around at all the equipment. It was just like everything else on the Vulture. Antiquated mixed with cutting edge technology. It appeared that they must have pilfered many cargo planes and possibly even some larger ships to get it all. Sam nodded to the other radio op and slumped into a chair and stared at the radio. 

"What now?" 

"Just sit and wait." 

"That's all ya' can do." stated the other radio operator, who happened to be a raccoon. 

Camdyn supposed that he must be the night operator since he seemed to have been sleeping. She sat down in an extra seat and started examining stack of paper. From the looks of it, Sam and Trent, she guessed that was the raccoon since it was the only other name on the papers, took notes down on everything they encountered on the airwaves. There was something written about a cargo plane carrying tires and another one about a tanker with airplane fuel. They were the more useful of the entries. There was also something about a group of air show stunt pilots passing through and something about a lost chimpanzee. 

"Here...if you're gonna sit in here, you might as well be useful." Sam handed her a book. The cover stated very plainly that it was a guide to Morse code. "Try to remember some of that." 

Camdyn opened it up and stared for a moment at the dots and dashes. The meanings were listed next to the dots and dashes. She bet she would have a headache before it was all said and done. Camdyn started studying. 


	21. Attack and Sneaking Out

**Chapter 20**

Mina stood tapping her foot in front of Karnage's desk. The wolf himself sat glaring at her from the opposite side. 

"Look, I can't take her with me. She knows your crew and half of them like her. It wouldn't be fair to force her to go with a group of unknown people. She's been lucky so far with your guys. None of them has gotten it into their heads that she's a woman yet. And those that have already have someone." 

"Hrmph." 

Mina stifled a growl. He'd been 'hrmphing' at her since she'd suggested her idea. 

"What do you want me to do with her?" Mina grumped. 

"I am not knowing...drown her? Throw her overboard? Feed her to the fishysticks?" 

Well, at least he wasn't 'hrmphing'. Mina looked at him. 

"Is that what you'd do with her?" 

"Well, it was obvious that she is not able to handle flying and shooting at the same time." 

"She's never been in battle." 

"Obviousamente." 

"Give her some time. What else would you do with her?" 

"I, in my brilliance, have told the radio men to teach her how to do what they do. She can do that." 

"And never leave the ship? That's cruel, Diego." 

"It is not. She is only here because no one is interested in carrying her off to be their wife." 

"What gave you that idea?" 

"It is always that way. She is a distraction to the crew. When you leave this ship, you either take her with you or she will be working the radio." 

"She's a distraction to the crew, huh? The crew or you, Diego?" 

Karnage's ears stood up and he leapt to his feet. 

"I am not interested in that vicious vixen! Don Karnage does not need a foolish female to muddle his keen mind!" 

Mina stared at him for a moment. 

"She's a good pilot. Even you have to admit that she was still in control even if she was scared to death. I told you I'd never had her fly formations." 

Karnage's ears dropped back to normal and he sighed. Mina would just keep going in circles with him until one of them cracked. 

"What do you want me to do? Teach her to be a captain? That is what you were doing, yes/no?" 

"I was going to try to teach her that, yes. But she's not cut out for it. I don't think she could send anyone in where they might get hurt." Mina answered. 

"She is a coward." 

"No. She's not. She just can't give orders. But I think she'd do anything you told her to, within reason of course." 

Karnage was silent for a moment. He was contemplating the possible uses that he could put Camdyn to. He had to admit that she could be useful. 

"Hm." 

"What are you thinking about?" 

"My crew are wise to Gibber and his spying trickery. They do not talk in front of him. They will not tell Will or myself of any problems. They just cry like little baby children in the night about it. Perhaps..." Karnage trailed off and Mina picked up on his train of thought. 

"She could be a sort of liaison between the crew and you?" 

"That sounds very dirty." 

"No no...I meant that the crew could tell her what they was wrong and she could relay the message back to you. That way, if it was something unfavorable, you wouldn't know who had said it. She'd be like the quartermaster on a ship." 

"So they keep me in the darkness of night about it?" Karnage frowned. Mina sensed that he wasn't liking this part so much. 

"No, no...if they know you know that they said it, then they wouldn't say anything at all. Wouldn't it be better to know than to not know?" 

Karnage shook his head as if to shake away the confusing sentence. 

"If it was being anything terrible about their wondrous captain...I could hang them all by their pinkies!" 

Mina sighed, but decided to leave it at that. She felt guilty about leaving Camdyn there, but there really wasn't much of a choice. If she could make herself useful for Diego, so much the better. Mina had never seen the articles that all of the crew members signed, but she'd heard that there was some sort of punishment for a male bothering a female crew member. She'd certainly never had any problems in that regard. Mina also highly doubted that anyone had ever been hung by their pinkies, but didn't say anything. 

"Well, maybe we should see what-" 

Mina was interrupted by a squawk from the intercom system. 

Camdyn's voice came over it, sounding a strange mix of frightened, puzzled and nervous. 

"Captain, could you come to the radio room? The rat is doing the watusi on the gouda, the kittens are in the basement and the wolf is on the roof." 

Mina blinked. 

"What kind of nonsense is that?" 

Karnage shoved his way past Mina and ran down the hallway toward the bridge. Mina looked after him for a moment, then took off after him. 

Jacques jumped up as Karnage entered the bridge and yelled out a set of coordinates so fast that Will tenuously asked him to repeat them. Which he did. Mina was still confused. 

"Breaker Island? What's the rush, captain? If you don't mind me asking, that is." Will said. 

"They are in danger." 

"From the rat that's dancing on the cheese?" one of the others laughed. Karnage gripped him by the front of his shirt, lifting him to eye level. 

"From the BOUNTY HUNTERS who have the CHILDREN hiding in the basement and my SISTER on the roof watching them." Karnage snarled out the translation. There was complete and utter silence as what he'd said sank in. 

Karnage dropped the pirate and turned to go to the radio room. Mina did the sensible thing and remained on the bridge. 

Camdyn jumped as Karnage stepped in and slammed the door. He took the microphone and headphones from her and said: 

"The Vulture is circling the dying rat. Be keeping sure that none of the kittens lose their mittens." 

Camdyn blinked. When the communication from Breaker Island had come through, Sam and Trent hadn't been quite sure what to make of it. All that Sable had said was what Camdyn had decided to announce to the Captain. Sam had grumbled at her about that, but Camdyn had insisted. Camdyn was curious, but the tone of Karnage's voice said that he had no time to answer questions. He looked at Sam as he tossed the microphone and headset back onto the table. 

"This concerns you. There are bounty-type hunters at Breaker Island. If you are wishing to defend your family, you may go." Karnage said. Sam stared at him for a moment, then nodded. Camdyn looked at Sam, then back to Karnage. 

"What about me? Can I go?" 

"So you can lose what few marbles you have in your possession when the fur starts to fly? I am not thinking so." 

"But...they're my friends!" 

"This does not concern you vixen." Karnage snapped so viciously that Camdyn moved back. Without saying anything further he turned and stalked away. 

Camdyn had no idea what to do with herself now. She couldn't go with the advance group who would hopefully get there in time. She saw Sophie in the hallway as she passed, having left the radio room in the more capable hands of Sam and Trent. 

"You ought to go talk to Mad Dog. You think you've got it rough. He's been forbidden to go by Karnage himself and has done nothing but worry about Suki." the tigress mentioned as she walked by. 

Camdyn had nothing better to do, so she ended up back in the kitchen where she found a more than agitated mutt stalking around. 

"I thought you weren't supposed to be up." 

"I don't give a rat's ass." 

"Well, I can't go either. So I guess we can both sit here and worry together. The captain told me I wasn't allowed to go because it wasn't any of my concern." Camdyn said, she'd been getting used to Mad Dog's moods and language. She flinched as he slammed his fist into the wall. 

"The hell it isn't." 

Camdyn sighed and started to leave when she felt Mad Dog's hand on her shoulder. 

"Waitaminute. You just said that he said you couldn't go?" 

"That's what he said." 

"That's the biggest load of horseshit I've ever heard. You didn't sign anything. You aren't under his command." 

Camdyn stood considering this for a moment. 

"If I hurry I can catch them." Camdyn started out the doorway and Mad Dog stopped her again. 

"Take this." He shrugged off his vest and held it out to Camdyn. Camdyn wondered how it could possibly be so heavy as she took it and put it on. 

"There's extra ammo in there. Here..." Mad Dog gave her his shotgun, now back to it's normal form. "Don't point it at anything you don't intend to shoot. And I expect it all to be in one piece when you get back. Oh yeah...one more thing...take my plane 'cause Ratchet's been fiddlin' around with yours." 

Camdyn nodded, then turned and headed toward the hangar. 

"Good luck." he muttered and started to look for something to snack on to take his mind off what was going on at Breaker Island. 


	22. Mad Dog the Informer

**Chapter 21**

Camdyn dashed to Mad Dog's plane. This time around there wasn't any hesitation about what she was doing. She'd already managed to miss the rest of the group leaving and was determined to make time. The vulture was already moving full speed ahead, but it would take time before they got there. Camdyn finally climbed in and started the engine. The next thing she realized was that she'd cleared the vulture and was moving off instinctively following the sounds of the other planes. 

Mina stood in the bridge looking out the window. 

"I thought you told me that Mad Dog was grounded." 

"He is. I just stopped by the kitchen and caught him snacking." Sophie said, looking confused. 

"Well, if he's in there, who the hell is flying his plane?" 

"What?" 

"I'm serious. I could have sworn it was him." 

"He's there. I swear. Unless he's got a double." 

Mina turned and started toward the kitchen. She opened the door and found Mad Dog snacking on a sandwich with his feet propped on the table. 

"Whatcha want?" he mumbled. 

"Did you just send someone out in your plane?" 

"Yeah." 

"Who?" 

"Camdyn." 

"WHAT?!" Mina roared. 

Mad Dog made a great show of chewing the bite of sandwich. He swallowed and then answered. 

"I sent Camdyn out in my plane. She hasn't signed the articles, so she's not really a member of the crew. And I happen to know that she ain't really a prisoner." he took another bite of his snack. 

"The captain is convinced that she's a washout. Apparently he found her in the hallway shivering like a whipped puppy." Mina said with a touch of bitterness. 

"That vixen ain't no washout. She knows what she's doin'. The captain makes her nervous." 

"How would you know anyway?" Mina leaned over the table, staring at the mutt. Mina had never really been that fond of the Mad Dog. He always seemed like he told only half of what he really knew. 

"I know...stuff." 

"So help me I'll...I'll...I'll-" 

"Do something we'll both regret?" 

"Spill it." 

"Spill what?" 

"Stop acting like an idiot and tell me what you know about Camdyn that I don't know." 

Mad Dog abruptly shifted his feet off the table. 

"What's it worth to ya'?" 

"Either you tell me or I'll murder you right now." 

"Don't sound fair to me. How about this, I tell ya' and you keep your mouth shut about how you found out. Deal?" 

"Deal. Now tell me." 

"Ok, her dad is some sort of smuggler, but she don't know it so don't go and tell 'er or she'll freak out same as she did about her granddad. Anyway, her dad decided to send her to some sorta women's school so's he could marry her off to one of his rivals and ensure their co-operation in his future operations." 

"I know all that. Tell me something that I don't know." 

"Oh sweet irony. Didn't ya know that the Karnage's are a total pain in her dad's ass? She was supposed to marry one of them so they'd leave him alone 'cause then he'd be 'family'." 

"That's interesting. So who was she supposed to be married to?" 

"Well, near as I can tell, they got it wrangled so that she'd end up with one of the few eligible bachelors left in the family." 

"Are you tell me what I think your telling me?" 

"What do you think?" 

"You're telling me that I've been meddling around with teaching Camdyn Everly how to pirate and that she's going to be crew for her own HUSBAND?!" 

"Bingo." 

"Does Karnage know?" 

"I don't think so. All I could get was that his intended was supposed to be a vixen with white fur who was cultured. Apparently the captain isn't too thrilled with the arrangement himself." 

"Does she know?" 

"Nope. Not a clue." 

"What happens if she gets...you know...dead?" 

"I'm not sure." 

"How'd you find all this out?" 

"I ever tell you I'm part terrier? They dig around alot." 

"Mad Dog?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Have another sandwich." 

Sophie looked at Mina and grinned. 

"What are you smiling about?" Mina asked. 

"Just wait until Camdyn finds out. Can you imagine her face?" 

Mina considered for a moment. "Yes. She'll probably blow a fuse. Poor Camdyn. Poor Diego! They don't seem to be getting along at all." 

Mad Dog looked at Mina appraisingly then mumbled, "Cats don't get along most of the time but there's always plenty of kittens." 

"I suppose you're right, but I just hope she doesn't get herself into too much trouble out there." Mina said, flopping into a chair and starting to make a sandwich for herself. 


	23. Camdyn to the Rescue

**Chapter 22**

While her fate was being discussed, Camdyn was finally catching up to the others. She was sure she must have been noticed by now, but everyone was too worried to bother with her. She was sure that Zoll had looked back at her once or twice, but she hadn't heard anything over the radio. They were nearing Breaker Island and the first thing that Camdyn noticed was the group of planes parked in the front yard. She saw a few figures walking around, but it was too far to see who or what they were. She also noticed a figure lying on the roof of the house and assumed it was Sable. 

It must have been some sort of unspoken communication that told them to swoop in low and land. Camdyn followed suit and stopped. The hunters had all managed to get under cover so she had no use of the rifle. She picked it up anyway. As she dropped to the dusty ground she caught sight of Karnage staring at her. To say that he didn't look happy would have been an understatement. Camdyn was sure she would be horribly punished later, but shook it off and focused on the task at hand. The others evidently had a plan in motion which didn't include her. She hunkered down behind the trees and watched them. It was after a few minutes that she realized she had a clear path to the basement of the house. If she could get to it she could let the Ladies know they were here. The hunters were being kept busy by the rest of the crew around the side of the house. Camdyn decided to take the chance. She darted out and crossed the dusty yard, instinctively hopping the area where the children had started digging to China. She got to the doors without mishap and thanked her lucky stars. Tentatively she tapped on the doors. 

"Open up. Please. It's just me. Camdyn. Come on, open." She said softly at the sounds of rustling behind the doors. One of them inched open a crack and Roxie's very frightened eyes appeared. She saw Camdyn and opened the door all the way. 

"We can leave if you're quick about it." 

"How? We don't know how to fly!" Kay whimpered. Most of the small group huddled at the bottom of the stairs. Several of them had been crying. Rayne looked stalwart. She didn't seem the least surprised to see the vixen standing at the top of the stairs holding a shotgun and demanding they all come out. Without a word she picked up Gertie and started up the stairs. 

"No. Ve cannot fly, but Camdyn does. She can take der plane that Sable uses. Ve can all fit in that vone." 

What Rayne said made sense and in short order they'd thought out a plan. Camdyn took the first group across the open ground and safely got them into the trees. The rest of them followed in groups of two or three. Roxie had the sense to shut the door into the basement as she dashed across. They could hear the shouts of the fighting on the other side of the house. Kelly whimpered. 

"S'all right. They know what they're up to. Now, lets get out of here, OK? I'm pretty sure that Sophie can find something nice to eat when we get back to the Vulture." 

This had the unintentional double effect of calming the children and reinforcing the idea that they would get away. Camdyn snuck along the trees until they reached the side of the makeshift hangar that Sable kept the rickety bomber plane in. Camdyn didn't want to risk going through the open doorway and instead helped everyone through one of the few windows. Naomi took her time, considering that she was carrying a double load. 

"You all right?" Camdyn asked once they'd gotten into the plane. 

"Sure. If I can keep up with Kelly, I can do anything." She smiled weakly and strapped herself in. There was a long bench alongside both walls with harnesses and seats for all of them. Roxie sat in the cockpit with Camdyn. 

"How much room do you need to take off in one of these?" Camdyn asked. 

"I'm not sure. Um...probably to the end of the trees would be enough." 

"Good. 'Cause I think the guys are in the way." 

"What do you mean 'good'?" 

"Just hold on." 

Roxie complied and let out a muffled shriek as they took off straight for the edge of the island. This side of the island was a large cliff that the children had been threatened never to go near. The plane had nearly enough speed as it shot over the edge. It dropped a few feet and then caught the speed it needed and was flying. The engines growled in protest of the rough takeoff. Camdyn looked at the controls nervously. She wasn't used to flying inside, she felt like she needed the air swooshing through her hair to be able to tell where she was going. 

"Do you know how to read maps?" 

"Yes. And a good thing for you." 

"Wait..." Camdyn squinted through the windshield. "That's the Vulture. Let's go." 

Back on the ground Karnage's crew had driven off the hunters and were now looking for their families. 

"Diego!" Sable yelled from the roof. "That was a brilliant plan of yours." 

Karnage looked up at his sister as she dropped to the ground from the porch roof. He wasn't certain what she was talking about. 

"The plan. You know, sending that vixen in the back way while you had them distracted up here." 

"I...yes. I am brilliant." he puffed his fur up a little. "Where did the vixen go?" 

"She took my plane and headed toward the Vulture, I guess." 

"Then that is where we go." 

Most of the advance crew breathed a sigh of relief with the knowledge that their families were safe. On Sables' plane, things were a bit different. Naomi had just informed the group that her water had broken. 

"Oh no...no, no no no!" Camdyn said. 

"My thought's exactly." Roxie said. "I don't know anything about having babies..." 

"Just get to the Vulture. I'll take care of this, ja?" Rayne said, calmly waving a hand for them to carry on. 

"What if she has it before we get there?" 

Rayne laughed. 

"What's so funny about that?" 

"It vill take a vhile yet." 

"Well, tell her I'm glad!" Camdyn turned her full attention back to flying. 

Arriving back on the Iron Vulture wasn't as big a problem as Camdyn had thought it would be. They saw them coming a long way off and were ready to let them land. Shaken, but otherwise unhurt, the Ladies, sans Rayne and Naomi climbed out and stood looking around. Camdyn was the last to get off the plane. 

"Sophie?! Sophie!" Camdyn yelled. The tigeress started down to her. 

"What is it? Someone hurt?" 

"Not exactly..." this statement was punctuated by a shriek from Naomi wishing for her beloved Samuel on a platter. 

"What's going on?" 

"Urm...baby troubles." 

"Oh...Mad Dog?" Sophie looked back at the mutt who was standing looking at the group. 

"Oh no. I ain't helping you. Forget it!" the mutt backed away with his hands in the air as if warding off evil. 

"I just want you to go get Sam." 

In answer to Sophie's demand, Mad Dog turned and shouted down the hallway. Camdyn thought at first it was an echo but realized that the rest of the crew were passing the word along until it reached Sam. 

"An' tell him his wife's having the baby!" Mad Dog shouted. He turned back to the group on the hangar floor and smiled serenely. "That good enough for ya'?" 

Getting the children out was another challenge. They wanted to explore the ship as they'd never been on it before. 

"Hey, that was fun! Can we do it again?" Will, the younger one, asked, swinging on a cable that was used to lift the planes. 

"No. We are most definitely NOT doing it again." Suki said. 

"Where's Sable?" Mina asked, descending the stairs to the hangar floor. 

"Back at the island. It was Camdyn who brought us here." Roxie answered. Mina turned and glared up to where Mad Dog stood looking down at them. Suki saw him too. Mad Dog visibly gulped. 

"What are you doing here? You didn't want to hasten to my rescue?" she called. Mad Dog started shuffling off as fast as he could given his injuries. Suki was after him in a flash. Mina laughed softly. 

"You know they both really like each other, don't you?" she asked Roxie. 

"I figured as much. I mean, if she'd track him all the way through his travels and he'd let her...obviously something is going on there." Roxie answered. Camdyn fidgeted nervously. She was certain she was going to be in very big trouble as soon as Karnage got back. She climbed onto the wing of her plane and sat there, watching for him. 

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Mina asked, turning to where Camdyn was sitting. 

"I'm in so much trouble I couldn't dig my way out with a spoon." 

"I think that about sums it up." Mina said. She turned at the sounds of aircraft arriving and knew that Camdyn had much underestimated how much trouble she was in. Karnage looked furious. 

Roxie must have sensed it as well. 

"If he didn't already have red fur, he'd still be red right now. Been nice knowing you, Camdyn." 

Camdyn made a strangled whining noise. Karnage stalked up to her. 

"I want to speak with you. NOW." He snapped and Camdyn jumped up and followed him. Mina looked at Roxie for a moment, and Roxie nodded. She'd go plead Camdyn's case. Meanwhile, Mina had some questions for the she-wolf now climbing out of Mad Dog's plane. 


	24. Who Wants to Marry A Pirate?

**Chapter 23**

"What do you know about your brother's arranged marriage?" Mina asked Sable. As soon as she'd gotten out of the plane, Mina and Sophie had dragged her to the kitchen and begun asking her questions. 

"He was not happy about that, you know. And I doubt he would be happy about you asking about it." 

"I know he's not happy. He's NEVER happy. Just tell me what you know." 

"Fine. But you did not hear this from me." 

"We've been getting that a lot lately." 

"Really...well, anyway, he was supposed to marry some smugglers daughter. What was the name? Kerbert? No, no...it was VerGress. That was it. All I know aside from that is that she's a vixen who was educated in Cape Suzette on how to be a woman of quality. My dear brother decided he'd rather run off and go a-pirating than marry some woman who would want him to settle down." Sable stuck her tongue out at the end of the sentence as if just the thought of it bothered her. 

"That's it then. It's not who we thought it was, Mina." 

"Thank goodness for that." 

"And just why is it that you are putting your filthy paws into my life?" Karnage's voice came from directly behind them. Mina stiffened. 

"I just thought-" 

"Well don't think! Do you think I am ever going back to be married off like some sort of...of...of...animal to some frivolous female? NO! I am a pirate! Pirates do not do marriage!" he crossed his arms in defiance. 

"That's funny..." Roxie started. 

"Shut up, dear sister. I am the captain! It is alright for my estupid crew to fall in love and make babies but I must be the heroic captain and-" 

"Did you say 'VerGress'?" Camdyn interrupted Karnage in mid-tirade. 

"Yes." 

"That's funny. That's my father's name. I wonder if she's related to me somehow. Father never was a loyal fox." 

Karnage turned his head and stared at her. Camdyn turned her head and stared back. 

"Wait, did you KNOW that was the name of the girl?" Mina asked Sable. 

"I just assumed because that was her fathers name." 

"Holy-" 

"That means that you're the crony I was supposed to marry?!" 

"You are the-" 

"I think we need to have a serious talk with mama and papa." Roxie said in the silence. She looked apprehensively at the two canines who were now staring at each other as if they'd both grown extra limbs. She'd only just barely managed to keep her brother from throwing Camdyn off the ship by appeasing his dominant nature and telling him that it was what Camdyn thought he'd wanted. He'd finally relented and let her stay on board, but was still convinced that she would have to leave with Mina since she couldn't follow orders. 

"Si. I believe we need to have a VERY serious session of talking to our meddling mother and fiddling father." Karnage still hadn't looked away from Camdyn. 

"So, how are you supposed to get ahold of them? I thought they were sailing around by this time of the year." Sable muttered. 

"I am not sure. But-" 

"I saw them...just the other day. They were in Parides." 

"You saw our parents? How would you know?" 

"Si! Prove it." 

"Well, your mother is a gray wolf and your father is gray now, but used to be tawny colored. You apparently get the red fur from your mother because she had a touch of red to her fur. Uh...your father carries a sword and talks in complete riddles, your mother only speaks Spanish and Islander and wields a wicked parasol." 

"That's them all right. Didn't happen to mention where they were going next?" 

"Not really. The last I saw of them, your mother was trying to beat Trap to death for calling her crazy." 

Much to Camdyn's surprise, Don Karnage started laughing. 

"What? Don't you believe me?" 

Karnage shook his head and gestured at his sister, Roxie. 

"Well, it's just that she uses that parasol as a deadly weapon. She's always slapping someone with it and the last person to get it from her was one of our cousins." Roxie started giggling. "Anyway, he was pretty drunk and had climbed onto the edge of the wall around the patio. She smacked him in the kneecaps and knocked him off the wall and into a huge briar bush. He was picking briars out of himself for days afterward. It's nice to know she still uses it." 

"Not to mention that it was a birthday gift from the three of us..." Sable muttered. 

"Well, there is only one thing to be doing. They will be turning up in the Hole in a few days-" 

"Or weeks." 

Karnage scowled at his sister and continued, "And we have to tell everyone that the Hunter is not a problemo." 

"What did you do with him anyway?" Mina asked. Karnage glanced at Camdyn and the others a bit apprehensively. 

"Well?" Sophie pressed. Karnage mumbled something nearly unintelligible and left quickly. 

"What did he say?" Camdyn asked, puzzlement written on her face. 

"I think he said that they have him stowed somewhere. That's just a disturbing thought." Roxie said. 

"If you do not give the pirates absolute proof, they will continue to think that the Hunter is out there roving around to get them." Sable pointed out. Once she'd mentioned this, it didn't seem much of an odd idea anymore. Still disgusting, but less odd. 

"The better question is how did those fools know the Hunter was dead when it had only happened an hour before?" Sophie mused. 

"Barlowe." 

"What? She's locked in the brig. How could she communicate with them?" Mina said. 

"Maybe she has a small sort of radio and could talk to them on it." Camdyn said. 

"Well, there's one way to find out." Mina stood up and began making her way to the brig. "Don't come down if you're squeamish." 

Sable grinned and followed, but Camdyn, Sophie and Roxie stayed where they were. They'd just started their fifth game of Go Fish when Suki popped in. 

"Hi. What are you all up to?" she asked, peering down at the cards. 

"Go fish." Camdyn said. Sophie giggled and Roxie pulled a card out of the middle pile. 

"Hmph. That's not a fish." Suki picked up one of the cards and looked at it as though it might be hiding something from her. 

"No no...it's a game. You've never played 'Go Fish'?" Camdyn asked. Suki gave her a blank look. 

"The object is that you get rid of all your cards by matching them together. Then you win, but if you need a card you have to ask someone, if they have it they have to give it to you, if not, you 'go fish' in the middle." Suki nodded slowly in understanding. 

Roxie looked up mischievously, "So...did you and Mad Dog get caught up?" 

Suki blushed slightly and stared more intently at the card still in her paw. Roxie giggled. Sophie batted at her. 

"You stop embarrassing her, and you stop encouraging him. He's going to get himself hurt. Again." 

"So, anyway, how did you get to the island so fast?" Suki changed the subject quickly. 

"What do you mean, fast? I don't think I've ever gone so slow in my life...at least it felt that way." Camdyn answered. 

"Well, unless the clock here is set different, you made it to the island in a little more ten minutes. Parides is at least a forty minute flight for small cargo aircraft, the vulture makes it in about twenty with all the engines going and a good tailwind. How'd you do it, Camdyn?" 

"Ten minutes? Are you sure?" 

"Yes." 

"I'll have to ask the captain because I don't know how we managed it." 

This elicited a laugh from the others. 

"Not to be nosy, but what exactly is up with the captain anyway?" Suki asked. 

"He's supposed to marry Camdyn and she's supposed to marry him, but they don't like each other so we're going to go talk my parents out of making them marry each other." 

"I don't not like him." 

Roxie looked at Camdyn. 

"So you're saying that you DO like him? As bullying and bossy as he is?" 

"He can be nice...I think." Camdyn was staring at her cards like they might sprout wings and fly away. 

"That's what Mad Dog said." 

"Huh?" 

"He said you liked the captain because he was nice to you sometimes." 

"Sometimes, I guess he is. In his own way..." 

"Always." Roxie muttered. 

"Say, where's Gwynn?" Camdyn asked. 

"Oh she's hanging around somewhere. Did you hear? Naomi had a boy. I don't think they've named him yet, but he's supposedly a rather darling little orange tom. They're having a time keeping the other children from cuddling him to pieces so, I think Gwynn helping Kay and Lulu keep an eye on the kids. I think she's planning to jump ship with them. I've been wondering when she was going to decide to leave us." Sophie said. 

"I thought she liked it here. Even with the peeling." Camdyn said. 

"No. Gwynn is afraid of heights. And don't tell her I told you." 

"Never." 

"Good. Now, got any twos?" 

"Go fish." 


	25. Bugging Out

**Chapter 24**

In the end, it was decided to go to the Hole to drop off the Hunter. That way, they would still be there when Karnage's parents showed up. As it turned out, Karnage's parents were already there. 

Camdyn stared at the ship the two wolves inhabited. It was smaller than she'd imagined. 

"What?" Roxie asked, noticing the vixens gaze. 

"I thought it would be...well, bigger." 

"Silly. Real pirates don't use galleons and stuff like that. Most of the time they use speedboats now." 

"Speedboats?" 

"Yep." 

"Hey, Mad Dog!" Camdyn called. After being sure she had everyone's attention, she continued, "Do you think we could get some speedboats and turn into sea pirates?" 

"Hell no. I hate water." 

"Are you a dog or a cat?" Camdyn retorted. 

"Meow." 

"Haha. Funny, Mad Dog." 

There were only a few other crews there, mostly they lived in the Hole. Camdyn had climbed up the ridge a few hours before just to see if it was truly a city in a hole and indeed it was. Now they were waiting for Karnage to find his parents and bring them back to the beach. 

"I'm hungry." Will, Jr. stated flatly. 

"You are always hungry." Sable muttered. 

"Hey...I'm hungry too." Mad Dog said. He picked a beetle off the rock next to him and ate it. 

"Aw that's sick." Will Jr. grumbled, covering his eyes with one hand and holding his stomach with the other. 

"No. It's good. Could use some salt though...you got any salt?" 

"Salt water." Camdyn said. "In a great big bucket. To drown you with." 

"Now you're tryin' ta make me sick." Mad Dog said. He turned his attention to another annoying bug and ate it. Will Jr continued staring at him. 

"So...um...what does it taste like?" 

"Chicken." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. Only the legs tickle on the way down. You oughtta try it." Mad Dog grinned. 

"Uh...no thanks." 

"More for me." Mad Dog said chewing another bug. 

"Why do you eat the most disgusting stuff you can find?" Zoll asked. 

"Cause no one else wants it." 

"Well, I suppose that's as good an excuse as any." Zoll muttered. 

Suki giggled at Zoll. 

"You just don't appreciate good snacking." 

"Heh. Like you'd go...and..." 

Suki looked up at Zoll while chewing on a beetle. 

"Eat something like that...no wonder you two get along." Zoll finished. 

"Hello my worthless minions, your amazing and wonderous leader has return-ed.." Don Karnage announced standing at the top of a small sand dune. He flinched suddenly as his mother shuffled up beside him and poked him on the foot with her umbrella. 

"Oh yes, I have decided to be gracious enough to introduce you to my parents." Karnage glanced at the old she-wolf out of the corner of his eye. "Where has-" 

Abruptly his father came running over the hill and onto the ship. 

What did you do NOW?the she-wolf snapped shaking her umbrella. 

Nothing. What made you think I've done something?the tone of his voice obviously gave him away. He looked around shiftily. 

Perhaps it was you fleeing for your life.

You stay out of this.the wolf replied, glaring at his son. 

Before you set sail to parts unknown, maybe you would be so kind as to decide if this vixen is the correct one?the she wolf said grinning. 

"Of course it is the right vixen." the old wolf huffed and walked around Camdyn in a circle. 

"She is the same one who got kidnapped while you were attacking that idiot." 

Camdyn stood still watching. 

"Well? What else did you want to know about her?" 

"I am NOT going to marry her." Karnage snapped. He looked somewhat sulky to Camdyn. Mina shook her head slightly and stifled a grin. 

"Well, what is wrong with her?" 

Karnage stared at his father for a few minutes. "She...she is part of my crew! A pirate captain cannot marry a lowly crew member." 

Karnage's father translated for his mother and she promptly hit her son over the head with her umbrella. 

"OW! What was that for?" 

"She was a member of my crew." the old wolf said, smothering a laugh as the she-wolf whacked Karnage again. 

"Aie! That is enough! My crew are watching! Take your whackety-smackety-" 

She is a perfectly nice girl. Now you be nice or I'll give you another.

Karnage didn't say anything, merely glared at Camdyn, then his mother. 

I suppose we can't make you marry the vixen if you hate her that much.

I don't hate her.

Well, what is all the fuss about then?

I don't want to marry her.

Then don't.

Fine.Karnage frowned and crossed his arms. 

At this Karnage's mother chuckled. Sometimes he was still a bit like a sulky child. 

"Well, if this is all settled, perhaps we ought to get out of here before that mob with the pitchforks catch up to me." 

Camdyn couldn't help but notice that the old she-wolf rolled her eyes and followed the wolf onto the ship. 

Bring her by the house sometime.

Karnage frowned at his mother as they cast off and started off. A chimp came running over the hill a few seconds later. 

"Damn it. He got away, AGAIN! I told you imbeciles to keep an eye on him, but no...we have to let him distract us!" he fumed as a group of baboons came panting up the hill. 

"We told you he was slippery..." 

"Yeah." 

"Not to mention that huge pile of bananas he-" 

"Shut up." The chimp grumbled as they went back down the hill. 

Camdyn and the rest of the crew looked at each other for a moment, then Mad Dog crunched another beetle. 

"Wonder what got their banana's in a twist..." Camdyn muttered. 

"Who knows? Maybe someone set some fruit flies on them." Zoll said. He made a face as Suki snapped up a particularly large bug. 

Karnage noticed their snacking and made a face. Camdyn giggled and he glared at her. 

"What?" 

"Why are you two eating those disgusting buggitys?" 

"Urm...because they don't run away fast enough?" 

"Mad Dog?" 

"Yeah, Cap'n?" 

"You are an imbecile! Stop crunching those creeping-crawlies and at least try to be making yourselves into proper pirates." 

"Vhy?" 

Karnage looked like he would like to whack Dumptruck with his cutlass, but thought better of it when he glanced at Rayne. 

"Because they are going to be taking a looky-see at the Hunter in a few minutos and you better all be on your best pirating behavior...or else." 

There was a ragged chorus of 'ayes' and the pirates all got to their feet and began shuffling off. 

"Um...where are we going, Mina?" 

"To go make ourselves look like proper pirates." 

"Well, isn't that a fine to-do?" 

"Oh, would you shut up." Mad Dog grumbled from his place behind Zoll. 

"Well, I mean there's only so many ways to look like a group of mangy, flea-ridden, low brow, half-starved flying lunatics." Camdyn said. 

As one the crew turned and looked at her. Camdyn tried not to giggle, but lost the battle. 

"Sorry, but you should have seen your faces!" 

Mad Dog scritched his neck for a moment, then snatched Camdyn up in a bear hug. 

"Hey! Let me go! Ooooo! I'll get you for that!" Camdyn snapped as Mad Dog dropped her on the sand. 

"I thought you'd like to visit with my friends." 

The crew laughed racausiously and Camdyn glared at them. Resisting the urge to scratch herself where Mad Dog's fleas were biting. 

"Ooh...you just wait..." 

AN: And we're actually nearing the end of this story! W00T! (Well, not w00t for you, the readers, but w00t for me for finishing one. :) Also...there may possibly be a sequel...)


End file.
